Austria increases the foreign disaster fund to 77.5 million euros, increasing the funds fivefold from 2019. This was announced on Friday by Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) in Vienna.
Austria should also have a “humanitarian aid strategy” for the first time: individual areas should be better integrated, objectives and responsibilities should be more precisely formulated and revised.
One in 22 people needs help
According to the UN, the livelihoods of more than 360 million people are currently threatened and one in 22 people in the world is dependent on humanitarian aid. According to the Foreign Minister and the Vice Chancellor, these types of “gloomy figures” were the starting point for developing the strategy, which will be adopted by the Council of Ministers on October 4.
The project is therefore not selfless and unselfish: “It’s not about altruism. Global crises can also trigger migration movements,” Schallenberg said during the presentation in Vienna on Friday. And Vice Chancellor Kogler explained: “The more people need humanitarian assistance, the more important it is to have a structured approach.”
Kogler speaks of multiple crises
It is “right, important and wise to pool and regulate common goals and responsibilities,” especially in times of multiple crises, Kogler said.
In concrete terms, this concerns the areas already referred to as development cooperation, humanitarian aid and peacekeeping. The now extensive foreign disaster fund – located at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – falls in the field of humanitarian aid.
Praise from Caritas
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Caritas welcomed the intention of the strategy, which was already laid out in the coalition agreement: the government “fulfilled a long-standing concern of Caritas and other aid organizations,” Caritas President Michael Landau said in a press release.
The number of people in need is increasing as a result of the climate crisis and as a result of wars and conflicts. Resources can now be deployed ‘more specifically, more plannably and faster’.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
