WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is sending $60 million in “rapid assistance” to help struggling Tunisian families amid ongoing economic shocks that have plagued the North African nation and been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
The grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will help UNICEF deliver direct support to vulnerable people in Tunisia, including for school-related costs, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
“The United States continues to stand with the Tunisian people as they grapple with an ongoing economic crisis at home and confront food insecurity exacerbated by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The $60 million in aid is on top of ongoing U.S. support.
Tunisia is embroiled in a crisis in public finances and a severe goods shortages that has left long lines for fuel and other imports.
The country also has seen its foreign currency reserves slide and inflation rise. It is seeking to finalize a rescue deal with the International Monetary Fund although it is unclear if the country can implement the reforms sought by the international funding group.
United Nations officials have warned that hundreds of thousands of people in parts of Africa and elsewhere are starving or will face starvation amid a worsening global food crisis driven by local conflict, extreme weather as well as instability from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, thousands of Tunisians have sought to migrate to the European Union via Belgrade in search of asylum, according to a report.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
