Open letter to EU on Funding to Afghanistan, from European NGOs

• Afghanistan

A few hours before the extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, scheduled for today, 11 October, EMERGENCY has co-signed an open letter from the European Network of NGOs in Afghanistan (ENNA) to urge the release of EU funding allocated to Afghanistan for development programmes.

The open letter, addressed in the first instance to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell Fontelles and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen, urges European leaders to make an immediate commitment to address the Afghan crisis and ensure that funds are made available to organisations working in Afghanistan for the benefit of the population.

Today, around 40 million people in the country are experiencing a severe humanitarian and economic crisis, exacerbated by the absence of basic services, including healthcare, and transparent regulation to ensure sufficient funds to pay the salaries of those working in the country, who are worried about not being able to guarantee any livelihood for themselves and their families.