Today, the Storting approved a proposal for an additional allocation of NOK 200 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Of this, NOK 55 million will be an immediate cash payment to the UN and international organizations, and NOK 25 million is earmarked for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

- Afghanistan is undergoing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, said Foreign Minister Jan Petersen. He pointed out that the country is suffering from both conflict and a persistent drought, and that the coming winter will have serious consequences. - Getting supplies to the people is a race against time, said the Minister. He emphasized that Norway considers it very important to support the UN in its role as a key humanitarian actor in Afghanistan.

The rest of the Norwegian allocation will be split as follows: NOK 10 million to the World Food Programme, NOK 7 million to UNICEF, NOK 5 million to the World Health Organization, NOK 3 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and NOK 5 million to the International Organization for Migration. These sums are in addition to the recent allocation of NOK 14.5 million to the UNHCR and NOK 6 million to UNICEF.

The allocation the Storting approved today comes in addition to the approximately NOK 106 million that has already been allocated for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan this year.