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Critical shortfall of funds threatens humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan
The World Food Program (WFP) has cut assistance to eight million food-insecure Afghans due to critical funding shortfalls.
The UN said in a statement this week that in addition to the eight million people, 1.4 million new and expecting mothers, toddlers and preschoolers are also no longer receiving foods designed to prevent malnutrition.
From July onwards, only five million people will receive emergency food assistance when 15 million people in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 3 and 4 do not know where their next meal will come from, the statement read.
In addition, ration sizes have been reduced and those families in IPC 4 areas now receive one-third less assistance than before. If no new funding is received, emergency food assistance by WFP will shrink to nothing by the end of October, the agency warned.
WFP nutrition partners also reported that due to funding shortfalls, 25 mobile health and nutrition teams in four provinces have been shut down. The affected provinces include Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar. The closure of these teams means that more than 100,000 people will not have access to basic health and nutrition care services across the Eastern region.
By June this year, only nine percent of the $4.6 billion required for Afghanistan’s initial Humanitarian Response Plan had been received. In addition, 90 percent of the expenditure in the first five months of the year, that is approximately $850 million, relied on carryover funds from 2022.
Despite a revision of the initial humanitarian appeal for 2023, the response plan remains currently only 14 percent funded.
The UN said funding levels will also affect the health sector, and an estimated 7.6 million people will lack access to essential life-saving health assistance if funding levels remain the same.
“More than 31,500 households with severely malnourished children have already missed out on critical integrated cash packages for nutrition due to underfunding,” the UN said.
The education sector also faces potential discontinuation of approximately 2,800 community-based classes, impacting 83,000 children, 59 percent of whom are girls, who have only gained access to education in the past year after the Taliban took over.
The UN pointed out that the end of the year will bring further challenges with its harsh winter, which many cannot survive without assistance including warm clothing and blankets, essential medical treatment and food aid.
“Timely funding is crucial to enable aid agencies to procure and deliver core supplies, address border delays and market disruptions, and preposition relief items in highly affected areas. The Inter-Cluster Coordination Team is embarking on a critical funding gaps analysis which will be ready by the end of July,” the UN stated.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, said in a meeting on the occasion of the High Commission for Counter-Narcotics opening that the Islamic Emirate has been successful in the fight against narcotics.
However, Kabir has considered providing alternative crops to farmers as one of the international community’s responsibilities.
“The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against anyone. It does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan for smuggling or international crimes,” said Kabir.
In this area, the cooperation of countries in the region and the world is important. We must focus on the way that the countries of the region and the world avoid the harm of drugs,” he added.
Acting Ministers of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani and National Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid also said in this meeting that the Islamic Emirate is committed to a serious fight against drugs.
They have emphasized that in the last three years, nearly 80,000 operations have been carried out in this area and more than 20,000 smugglers have been arrested.
“Today, the Islamic Emirate has progressed in countering narcotics, but the world is largely silent for this issue and does not fulfill its responsibility. We want them to fulfill their responsibility,” said Yaqoob Mujahid.
“The international community should help the Islamic Emirate in the field of alternative livelihoods,” said Haqqani.
Acting Foreign Minster Amir Khan Muttaqi also said that the creation of this commission and the serious fight against drugs can provide the basis for the expansion of world relations with the current system.
This commission has the task of coordinating the fight against drugs and providing facilities to farmers in the field of alternative cultivation, and about 27 government departments are members of this commission.
Meanwhile, a number of other participants stressed that this year’s rains and floods have damaged Afghanistan’s agriculture sector and asked the international community to cooperate with the people of Afghanistan in this sector.
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Kremlin says it is very important for Afghanistan’s neighbors to build ties with IEA
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this after Kyrgyzstan removed IEA from its list of banned organizations
The Kremlin has said that it is very important for the neighbors of Afghanistan to build relationships with the Islamic Emirate.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this after Kyrgyzstan removed IEA from its list of banned organizations
«Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan share a close geographical proximity, and with the Taliban (IEA) now serving as the de facto government in Kabul, Russia understands Kyrgyzstan’s decision to remove the Taliban (IEA) from its list of terrorist organizations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing, 24.kg reported citing TASS news agency.
He explained that establishing connections with the authorities in Kabul is essential for regional stability.
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UN Security Council condemns IEA’s morality law
UN Security Council members urged the IEA to swiftly reverse all the policies and practices that restrict women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) morality law, calling on the international community to use its influence to push for an immediate reversal of policies that target Afghan women.
Twelve out of 15 UN Security Council members in a statement condemned “in the strongest terms” the IEA’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan. China, Russia and Algeria did not back the statement.
A diplomat has told The National that Russia and China had said it would be “unfair” to make a judgement on an internal Afghan matter.
UN Security Council members urged the IEA to swiftly reverse all the policies and practices that restrict women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“The Taliban (IEA) need to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls by respecting their rights to education and for women, to work as well as the freedoms of expression and movement,” said Japan’s ambassador to the UN, Yamazaki Kazuyuki, on behalf of the 12 council members.
“It is a prerequisite for a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.”
The council members further emphasised that the IEA’s actions undermine international efforts to engage with them, citing a meeting with UN special envoys in Doha two months ago.
This comes as the IEA has said that laws are made according to the Islamic rules, which should be respected.
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