The European Union announced this week that it will provide an additional $26 million for polio vaccines and another $15.6 million for child protection in Afghanistan. 

According to a statement issued by the EU, the funding for child protection will specifically be aimed at caring for migrant children at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. 

As Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, children across the country face violence and other threats to their safety, forcing them to make desperate decisions in order to survive, the EU’s statement read. 

Many children and young people feel forced into labor, and some choose to take the risky journey out of Afghanistan. Last year, 88 percent of households had at least one child working outside the home under difficult conditions, the EU stated.

“The dangerous journey for children across borders, especially when traversed alone, places these migrant children at risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse,” says Andreas von Brandt, EU Ambassador to Afghanistan. 

“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 labor.”

This money, provided as a continuation of EU support since 2018, will allow UNICEF to:

Provide psychosocial support to 18,000 unaccompanied minors, trace their families, ensure they are reunified and support them to reintegrate into their communities.

Provide vocational training, small business start-up or apprenticeships for 7,500 children and 500 adults.

Provide cash-based assistance to over 4,600 households most in need.

Reach out to over 230,000 community members to discuss the dangers of child migration and how it can be prevented or addressed.

Reach out to 140,000 men and women on preventing gender-based violence.

In addition, EU has contributed a combined $26 million to UNICEF and the World Health Organization to support polio vaccination campaigns across the country, especially at borders where children may be transiting.

“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,” says Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. 

“These funds will allow UNICEF and WHO to strengthen polio vaccination efforts to ensure all children in the country, and those crossing transit points, are vaccinated against polio.”