EU delivers additional €40 mn for polio vaccines and child protection in Afghanistan

Amid the ongoing political and economic turmoil in Afghanistan, the European Union provided €15 million for child protection in the nation along with an additional €25 million for polio vaccines. According to a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), children in Afghanistan endure violence and other dangers as the country's economic and humanitarian conditions depleted, which forces them to make difficult decisions in order to survive. Many children and teenagers are pushed into labour, while some decide to leave Afghanistan on perilous journeys. 88% of homes had at least one child working outside the home under challenging circumstances last year which includes both displaced and non-displaced populations, UNICEF reported.   

Andreas von Brandt, the EU Ambassador to Afghanistan noted that children working outside their homes are prone to risk, especially since these migrant children are vulnerable to "abuse, exploitation, and violence". He further added, “That is why the EU is contributing an additional €15 million to UNICEF, to help identify boys and girls returning to Afghanistan who need help, and children at risk of migration, and give them options other than migration or labour,” as per the release.  

EU's assistance to Afghanistan

In addition to this, the €15 million, which is the continuance of EU assistance since 2018, will enable UNICEF to give 18,000 unaccompanied adolescents psychosocial help, find their relatives, and see to it that they are reunited and assist them in reintegrating into their communities. Furthermore, it will also provide 7,500 kids and 500 adults access to apprenticeships, small company startup opportunities, or vocational training. 

According to the release, €15 million will also assist over 4,600 households who are most in need of cash-based support. It will also reach out to more than 230,000 individuals in the community to talk about the risks associated with child migration and what can be done to stop or remedy it. 140,000 men and women should be contacted on reducing gender-based violence, it emphasised.  

Apart from this, the EU has delivered a total of €25 million to UNICEF and the World Health Organization to assist polio vaccination efforts across the nation, particularly at borders where children may be passing through. 

Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, said, “Afghanistan is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world, and transmission often occurs when children move from Afghanistan to Pakistan and back, causing them to miss their regular vaccination appointments,” the release reads. Ayoya even stressed that these funds will enable UNICEF and WHO to increase their polio vaccination campaigns.  

UNICEF further reported in the release that in national campaigns, UNICEF obtained 33.5 million doses of the polio vaccine between May 2021 and April 2022, immunising 6.3 to 9.8 million children under the age of five. Additionally, 1.2 million migrant children have received polio vaccines from permanent teams stationed at the busiest borders with Iran and Pakistan. 

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