EU Humanitarian Air Bridge Flight to Afghanistan Delivers Earthquake Relief Aid

Following the series of earthquakes that struck western Afghanistan earlier this month, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to Herat landed today, carrying 92 tons of essential supplies to help the affected population. From the total cargo, the EU donated 57 tons from its own stockpiles in Dubai, consisting of blankets and winterisation kits for tents. Another 20 tons of medicines were transported for the World Health Organization and 15 tons of food were delivered for the World Food Programme.
A second and a third flight are scheduled to follow soon from Brindisi and Dubai to Herat and Kabul. In-kind contributions will be gathered from Ireland, Italy, and relief items from EU Humanitarian Aid Partners. France is also enhancing the aid transport and storage capacity.
After the first earthquake hit Afghanistan on October 7, the EU approved a humanitarian aid package, which included €2.5 million in funding for on-site humanitarian partners, as well as the offer of in-kind assistance from its own European Humanitarian Response Capacity (EHRC) stockpiles. Together with the scheduled flights, the EU’s total support for earthquake response amounts to €4.5 million. euros.