site.btaBulgaria Grants BGN 1.06 Mln to International Organizations for Humanitarian Aid

The Cabinet approved the provision of development aid and humanitarian assistance in the form of voluntary contributions to international organizations for a total of BGN 1,061,454. The funds will be directed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Endowment for Democracy.

The approved aid is in line with the priorities set out in the Mid-Term Programme for Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2020-2024. Both Bulgaria's traditional commitments in support of established international humanitarian organizations and current developments in a number of regions have been taken into account. The humanitarian consequences of the ongoing war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the humanitarian emergency in Armenia related to the influx of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, the severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the severely deteriorated humanitarian situation in Afghanistan after a series of earthquakes were some of the factors that the Cabinet considered before making its decision. In line with the humanitarian imperative, priority is given to emergency action in cases of natural and climatic disasters, as well as protracted humanitarian crises.