[{"bbox": [146, 151, 1083, 355], "category": "Text", "text": "On 11 October 2021, during an informal videoconference of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Development called by HRVP Borrell, the EU and its Member States agreed on the need to assist the population directly by supporting essential services, avoiding government channels, and going beyond humanitarian aid to focus on direct basic needs and livelihoods assistance, an approach also termed sometimes as humanitarian+. Funds should be channelled through international organisations and NGOs and the benchmarks agreed in the Council conclusions of 21 September 2021 should be respected."}, {"bbox": [146, 366, 1083, 541], "category": "Text", "text": "More specifically, 1) principles for delivery of aid will be taken into account including: women, girls and persons belonging to minorities should be able to access services in a non-discriminatory fashion; 2) support can only be given through multilateral organisations or NGO's, not through the Taliban both in Kabul and at the local level, either directly or through other actors; and 3) the Taliban should not be involved in the hiring, of recruitment policy nor in the, implementation and management of support mechanisms."}, {"bbox": [146, 552, 1083, 611], "category": "Text", "text": "On 12 October 2021, the President announced the Afghan Support Package for the Afghan people and neighbouring countries, addressing the urgent needs in the country and the region."}, {"bbox": [146, 623, 270, 653], "category": "Section-header", "text": "**Objectives:**"}, {"bbox": [183, 664, 1083, 752], "category": "List-item", "text": "- **The general objective** is to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and the socio-economic collapse of the country, which would also result in increased instability, severe security threats and migratory flows in Afghanistan, the region and beyond."}, {"bbox": [183, 763, 1083, 880], "category": "List-item", "text": "- **The specific objective** is to safeguard and maintain a minimal functioning of basic services in the country, to avoid as much as possible a breakdown of health and nutritional services and the collapse of primary and secondary education, and to safeguard livelihoods."}, {"bbox": [146, 891, 674, 921], "category": "Text", "text": "**What:** to deliver on these objectives, the action will:"}, {"bbox": [183, 932, 1074, 962], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Deliver a **package of essential services** through existing, non-government structures."}, {"bbox": [259, 975, 1083, 1092], "category": "List-item", "text": "  - sustaining the delivery of and access to **primary and secondary health services** across the country, including the continuation of immunisation campaigns (COVID-19, polio, cholera, measles) and strengthening **nutritional support** to children and women through the non-government health system;"}, {"bbox": [259, 1103, 1083, 1162], "category": "List-item", "text": "  - sustaining the delivery of, and access to **primary and secondary education services** across the country, for all children, boys and girls²;"}, {"bbox": [259, 1173, 1083, 1233], "category": "Text", "text": "This may include the direct payment of salaries/stipends to health workers and teachers, especially female staff."}, {"bbox": [183, 1244, 1083, 1332], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Sustain **livelihoods and food security** by focusing on community-based employment and income-generating opportunities in particular for women-led households that complement and reinforce life-saving humanitarian assistance."}, {"bbox": [146, 1343, 427, 1371], "category": "Text", "text": "**How:** the whole action will:"}, {"bbox": [183, 1384, 1083, 1499], "category": "List-item", "text": "- be delivered according to the approach agreed by EU Development Ministers on 11 October, in close coordination and complementarity with EU humanitarian assistance, stopping short of the state-building approach pursued by EU development assistance until the Taliban takeover;"}, {"bbox": [146, 1563, 1083, 1615], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² In 1994, Afghanistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which concerns both health and education. A child means every human being below the age of 18 years."}, {"bbox": [1069, 1641, 1083, 1663], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "4"}]