The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to allocate EUR 16 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The aid will be channeled through UN humanitarian agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Finnish Foreign Ministry said.
“Finland has supported Ukraine’s humanitarian needs since the first day of Russia’s war of aggression and will continue to do so also in the future. The need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine is enormous, and our assistance is important,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.
Finland is also granting assistance to address major refugee crises in Africa and the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. Finland provides EUR 2 million in support for the World Food Programme’s (WFP) operation in Sudan, EUR 2.5 million for the WFP’s operation in Gaza and EUR 2 million for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR’s regional operation in Syria, among other operations. Support is also granted to Ethiopia, to the Horn of Africa and to the Great Lakes and the Sahel regions. In Asia, Finland supports Afghanistan and Myanmar through the International Red Cross Movement.
Finland also provides EUR 2 million in funding for the WFP’s and UNHCR’s work on disability inclusion. The aid is targeted at persons with disabilities, who are often in the most vulnerable position. In addition, EUR 2 million is granted for developing the WFP’s school meals activities and supporting school meals, especially in Africa.
In addition to these decisions, Finland grants core funding to multilateral humanitarian organisations. Moreover, preparations are under way for humanitarian assistance that will be channelled through Finnish civil society organisations. The rest of the budgeted humanitarian funding will be granted later in the year.