Rome: UN humanitarian agencies and their allies urge countries to honor their pledges Afghanistan, as they run there to increase the distribution of life-saving aid before the coming winter season.
Afghanistan was already in one of the world’s worst humanitarian conditions before the Taliban came to power in August, which has deepened existing needs and vulnerabilities.
Less than 40 percent of the $606 million Flash Appeal launched in September to aid more than 10 million vulnerable Afghans is funded.
Humanists warned that the donor’s promises and commitments “must be turned into an immediate reality” before it is too late.
“Afghanistan is on borrowed time,” said Mary-Ellen McGarty, world food program representative (wfp) in country. “I’ve never seen a crisis unfold at this speed and scale before.”
Afghanistan has faced decades of conflict and displacement as well as chronic poverty, severe drought and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly half the population, more than 18 million people, need aid to survive, while conflict and insecurity have displaced more than 3.5 million, with nearly 700,000 uprooted this year alone.
The health system of the country is crumbling and the economy is on the verge of collapse. The rights of women and girls and minorities are also seriously under threat.
“We are seeing a new depth of destruction due to drought and the economic crisis, which drives up the prices of food and fuel,” McGorty said.
UN agencies and partner organizations are responding to the crisis, despite financial constraints, military challenges and what he described as “an increasingly complex geopolitical situation”.
Ramiz Alkabarov, the top UN humanitarian official in Afghanistan, said the country’s people “should not pay the price for collective failures”, and deserve to live in peace and dignity.
“We will leave no stone unturned to meet the needs of all women, men and children in Afghanistan,” he said. “We will continue to advocate for the rights of women and girls and minority groups, as well as all rights to employment, food, health care, education and security,” she said.
Afghanistan was already in one of the world’s worst humanitarian conditions before the Taliban came to power in August, which has deepened existing needs and vulnerabilities.
Less than 40 percent of the $606 million Flash Appeal launched in September to aid more than 10 million vulnerable Afghans is funded.
Humanists warned that the donor’s promises and commitments “must be turned into an immediate reality” before it is too late.
“Afghanistan is on borrowed time,” said Mary-Ellen McGarty, world food program representative (wfp) in country. “I’ve never seen a crisis unfold at this speed and scale before.”
Afghanistan has faced decades of conflict and displacement as well as chronic poverty, severe drought and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly half the population, more than 18 million people, need aid to survive, while conflict and insecurity have displaced more than 3.5 million, with nearly 700,000 uprooted this year alone.
The health system of the country is crumbling and the economy is on the verge of collapse. The rights of women and girls and minorities are also seriously under threat.
“We are seeing a new depth of destruction due to drought and the economic crisis, which drives up the prices of food and fuel,” McGorty said.
UN agencies and partner organizations are responding to the crisis, despite financial constraints, military challenges and what he described as “an increasingly complex geopolitical situation”.
Ramiz Alkabarov, the top UN humanitarian official in Afghanistan, said the country’s people “should not pay the price for collective failures”, and deserve to live in peace and dignity.
“We will leave no stone unturned to meet the needs of all women, men and children in Afghanistan,” he said. “We will continue to advocate for the rights of women and girls and minority groups, as well as all rights to employment, food, health care, education and security,” she said.
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