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For more recent information on the Australian aid program to Afghanistan see Country Information Afghanistan.
The Australian Government, through its overseas aid agency, AusAID, is to
contribute $4 million to assist UNICEF with its back to school program for the
children of Afghanistan.
Since March 2002, more than 1.5 million children have resumed their education
under the program which is paying particular attention to the needs of girls who
were denied formal education under the Taliban regime.
Australia is also providing $1 million to improve wheat seed distribution and
wheat seed quality in Afghanistan. Three years of drought and years of conflict
have left much of Afghanistan's population highly vulnerable to hunger and crop
yields are only now starting to improve. This funding will be provided through
the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, ACIAR.
In addition, Australia will also provide a limited number of Australian
Development Scholarships for Afghanistan in 2003. These will be targeted to
priority areas identified by the Transitional Administration, to help the
country's longer term capabilities beyond the current reconstruction period.
The contributions to UNICEF and ACIAR are part of a $54.33 million commitment
given by Australia since September 2001 for humanitarian relief and
reconstruction in Afghanistan.
This assistance has been in the form of food aid, measures to restore
essential infrastructure, assistance for displaced people, water and sanitation,
mine clearance and awareness, emergency medical assistance, immunisation,
nutrition, primary education and training, and strengthening migration and border control systems.
The funding has been allocated in the following way.
November 2002
-
$4 million to UNICEF to support activities in basic education, especially
for girls - $1 million to ACIAR to improve wheat seed quality and distribution
- $2 million (through DIMIA funding) to assist the Afghan government strengthen migration and border control systems
- $200,000 (through DIMIA funding) to the Afghan Interior Ministry to conduct nationality checks for people wishing to return home
- $200,000 (through DIMIA funding) to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to establish employment and training referral service for Afghans after their return.
September 2002
- $1.5 million to UN Mine Action Program for mine action activities
August 2002
- $7 million to supply Australian wheat to the World Food Programme
July 2002
- $4 million for basic education, specifically girls education
- $1 million for agriculture and drug control
- $1 million for mine action activities.
-
$1.03 million to the International Organisation for Migration for its
internal transportation networks -
$1.1 million to the International Organisation for Migration for the
Jangalak Refugee Receiving Centre in Kabul - $0.5 million for capacity building in the banking/finance sector
- $0.5 million will be set aside for emerging priorities.
Previous funding was distributed in the following way:
- $14.3 million to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- $7 million to the World Food Programme
- $4 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross
- $1.5 million to the International Organization for Migration
-
$1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World
Food Programme for relief operations following the March earthquake -
$1 million to the United Nations Development Program's Regional
Humanitarian Coordinator's Office -
$1 million to the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund for the
Interim Afghan Administration - $1 million to Care Australia
- $750,000 to Australian Volunteers International
- $500,000 to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF
- $500,000 to UN Drug Control Program
- $500,000 for mine action activities
-
$500,000 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs - $250,000 to Australian Red Cross
- $250,000 to Oxfam Community Aid Abroad
- $250,000 UNICEF Australia.
19 November 2002