S. Korea to provide $32 mln worth of humanitarian aid to Afghans

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it will provide Afghanistan with US$32 million worth of humanitarian aid to help people there in urgent need of food and health care services.

Seoul plans to offer the fund through international organizations to support food, refugee protection and health care projects for Afghans, especially children and women in a more vulnerable situation, the foreign ministry said.

It also pledged to support food and health care services for Afghan refugees in the neighboring countries, including Iran and Pakistan, and vowed continued contributions to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Some 23 million people are in need of food, and 97 percent of its 38 million population are at risk of sinking into poverty after the Taliban took power following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in August, according to United Nations Development Program.

The international community has not yet recognized the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan, and billions of dollars of its assets abroad are frozen under U.S. sanctions.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)