The Icelandic government will contribute ISK 80 million [$583,000; €575,000] to the United Nations Multi Partner Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan. The funds are to be used for development projects in the country as well as humanitarian aid. The United Nations estimates that more than half of the country’s population currently requires humanitarian aid.
“Afghanistan is in complete crisis and the need for both humanitarian and development aid is extremely urgent,” Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir stated. “It is therefore extremely important that Iceland does its part to respond to the disasters that have occurred there, both caused by nature and humans.”
Last month’s deadly earthquake worsened already difficult conditions in Afghanistan. Social infrastructure has collapsed and access to basic services is extremely poor.
The Multi Partner Special Trust Fund prioritises projects that focus on ensuring basic services, providing for people’s basic needs, promoting economic recovery, protecting agriculture against natural disasters, and increasing resilience and social cohesion.
Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakosdóttir stated last year that the country must shoulder responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan, both as a member of NATO and as representatives in the UN human rights council.
