New Zealand provides funding to support Afghanistan

A young Afghan vendor drinks water as he waits for customers at a livestock market ahead of Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on the outskirts of Kabul on June 26, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

WELLINGTON – New Zealand has announced another round of support to Afghanistan, providing a further 11 million NZ dollars ($6.81 million) in funding to support the United Nations' response to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

More than two-thirds of the Afghan population now requiring assistance, New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Thursday.

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Vulnerable communities in Afghanistan are experiencing record levels of food insecurity and are in desperate need of health services, clean water, and education, Mahuta said.

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The funding will support UN agencies to provide essential assistance to the Afghan people, taking New Zealand's support for Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 to 24 million NZ dollars ($14.85 million), the minister said.