Australia Pledges Two Million Dollars to Support Women in Afghanistan

Australia pledges significant additional support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA’s) emergency humanitarian work in Afghanistan to save the lives of women and girls. A press release from UNFPA stated that the government of Australia has stepped up its long-running support for the crucial work the UNFPA does in Afghanistan with a pledge of two million Australian dollars for emergency reproductive health care and supplies along with services to tackle violence against women among internally displaced people and returning migrants. “the funds, facilitated by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and to be dispersed through UNFPA over 12 months, will ensure reproductive health supplies, well-trained medical staff, counsellors and community mobilisers are on hand to provide quality care and support at facilities, including; the centre near the Torkham border crossing – a key crossing point on the Kabul-Peshawar-Islamabad route.,” The statement reads. The statement added that In support of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, the funds will strengthen training for health providers in emergency obstetric and newborn care, and in implementing international standards in preventing and responding to gender-based violence in emergencies. According to the United Nations 2017 humanitarian needs study, an estimated 9.3 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance, with 372,000 women who are pregnant at the time of such need. These include returnees, internally displaced people and those living in remote areas.