EU Unveils €710M Aid Package for Displaced People in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa

The EU will provide €52 million ($59 million) to help Ukraine prepare for winter as part of an almost €710 million ($809 million) aid package, with most of the remaining funds to be allocated to displaced people in Sub-Saharan Africa and crisis relief elsewhere. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the package during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Saturday, Sept. 26, as the high-level week of the summit was wrapping up.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to a statement from the Commission’s humanitarian aid department, the funding for Ukraine will cover humanitarian assistance and emergency preparedness, including winterization, shelter, essential services and energy-related support ahead of the cold season. “With today’s package, we will support displaced communities across Africa – as well as the communities welcoming them,” von der Leyen said. “We are also boosting emergency aid for those affected by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine,” she continued, pointing to conflict, extreme weather and the rising cost of living as the main forces upending lives around the world. The pledge was made as part of the 2026 campaign run by international advocacy group Global Citizen, according to von der Leyen’s statement on X. Most of the funding allocated to Africa The largest share of the funding, roughly €380 million (approximately $433 Other Topics of Interest Andriy Rizol on How Cultural Diplomacy Advances Ukraine’s Interests Producer Andriy Rizol discusses how film, theater and other cultural projects raise funds and build international support for Ukraine. million), will be allocated to Sub-Saharan Africa this year in an aim to protect vulnerable migrants, help people who choose to return home rebuild their lives, and improve how countries in the region manage migration and forced displacement. Out of that sum, approximately €240 million ($273 million) will be provided to the EU’s Migration Protection, Return and Reintegration program for the region, according to the EC. The remaining €140 million ($159 million) covers projects such as migration management and support for displaced people and host communities in eastern Mauritania, as well as services for refugees in Kenya, where the refugee crisis has dragged on for years. Part of the funding will go toward job training tied to employment opportunities. Brussels is also setting aside another €10 million ($11 million) to back peace efforts in Africa’s Great Lakes region and promote social cohesion. The money is intended to link local mediation led by women, young people and civil society groups with national and international peace talks. Another €7.5 million ($8.5 million) will be deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight its Ebola outbreak and build up its health surveillance and emergency response over the long term, including through the work of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development and the Institution Buisson Bernard (IBB). Emergency aid for the Middle East Ukraine’s €52 million (roughly $59 million) is part of around €252 million ($287 million) drawn from the EU’s Emergency Aid Reserve, which still needs approval from the bloc’s budgetary authority, according to the EC. Lebanon and Palestine will be allocated €103 million ($117 million) due to continued hostilities and mass displacement, which have put heavy strain on essential services and overall daily life. The remaining €97 million ($111 million) is earmarked for Sub-Saharan Africa, where conflict, hunger, malnutrition and climate shocks are deepening humanitarian needs. The funding includes Ebola response in Congo and neighboring countries. New health investments Alongside the aid package, the EC announced three new health investments under its Global Gateway strategy during the UNGA. They include an EU guarantee to draw private investment into health and nutrition businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, a European Investment Bank loan backed by the EU to expand vaccine and biological medicine production in Colombia, and €60 million ($69 million) to strengthen primary health care in Ethiopia. With the new pledge, the Commission has allocated more than €2.53 billion ($2.89 billion) in humanitarian aid since the start of the year, pending budget approval. Ukraine continues preparing for winter Meanwhile, Ukraine is racing to secure additional funding and air defense support from its partners before its fifth year of war. On Friday, EU member states agreed to release €6.6 billion ($7.5 billion) from the European Peace Facility (EPF), a fund Hungary had kept blocked since 2023 under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. During his trip to New York for the UNGA this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump, aiming to continue a diplomatic push that gained momentum when US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited both Moscow and Kyiv in early September. Kyiv is also working to secure urgently needed Patriot interceptors – one of the very few systems capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles. According to Zelensky, Trump has promised that Washington will grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriots domestically. The US president initially announced the license transfer in July but later backtracked on the commitment by saying Washington must exercise caution when sharing sensitive military technology. Earlier this month, Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara said Ukraine was working to secure about 1,000 Patriot missiles with allies’ support and an EU loan, though most are expected to arrive over several years. 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