At the end of June, the Austrian Federal Government decided to allocate four million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF) to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money will be used primarily for health projects carried out by Austrian NGOs in partner countries. Projects will be specifically selected that support access to local health facilities and the implementation of COVID vaccination programmes.
This initiative is not the first of its kind. Last November, one million euros was disbursed in the same way to local health facilities in Mozambique to support the COVID vaccination campaigns there.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg emphasised that despite the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the current health crisis should not be forgotten.This is still present and preoccupying the world.
“International solidarity and the support of our neighbours and worldwide partners as quickly as possible continue to be of decisive importance in overcoming this global challenge. Because no one is safe until everyone is safe,” said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
The aid funds will be used to support health projects in the priority countries of Austrian Development Cooperation – Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, Armenia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Mozambique, Bhutan and Palestine. In addition, there are countries where the Ministry of Health is represented by experts – Moldova, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ukraine.
The aid is intended to benefit vulnerable groups in particular, especially girls and women, who are particularly affected by the health and socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
“Vaccination remains the best tool in the fight against the pandemic. In this sense, we must use all possibilities to make vaccines available also to those countries that have received too little of them so far. The accompanying measures that are now possible in third countries are intended to improve access to vaccinations, especially for people in need of special protection as well as women and girls,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch.
So far, Austria has already supported its neighbourhood and other international partners in more than 20 countries with more than 8.5 million vaccine doses – be it bilaterally, as coordinator of EU deliveries to the Western Balkan countries or through the international COVAX initiative. Austria will continue this commitment in the future and make its contribution to coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.
BMEIA Federal Ministry for Europe Integration and Foreign Affairs

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