UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that nine million people in Afghanistan are at risk of famine and that about 95 percent of people in the country do not have enough food to eat.

Addressing delegates attending the UN’s high-level Pledging Event on Afghanistan, Guterres said the massive humanitarian response in Afghanistan since August 2021 “undoubtedly saved many lives over the winter”.

He thanked donor nations for their contributions but added that despite collective efforts, the already dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated alarmingly over the past few months.

He warned that UNICEF estimates that without immediate action, a million severely malnourished children are on the verge of death.

He also stated that as global food prices skyrocket, as a result of the war in Ukraine, “this spells catastrophe for both Afghans struggling to feed their families”, and for UN aid operations.

Without immediate action, we face a starvation and malnutrition crisis in Afghanistan, he said adding that people are already selling their children and their body parts, in order to feed their families.

Guterres noted that “Afghanistan’s economy has effectively collapsed” and that “there is very little cash”.

He went on to state that more than 80 percent of the population is in debt and that key workers in vital services, including schools and hospitals, have not been paid for months.

Listing the hardships faced by Afghans he went on to state that businesses cannot operate; international aid agencies can barely function; and local partners face even greater hurdles.

In addition, livelihoods have evaporated and farmers cannot buy seeds or fertilizers, he said.

“The UN Development Programme has warned that unless we take action, 97 percent of Afghans could be living below the poverty line by the middle of this year. Humanitarian needs have tripled since last June. Yes, tripled.
And they are growing, day by day and month by month,” he warned.

Guterres stated that the international community must find ways to spare the Afghan people from the impact of the decision to halt development support to Afghanistan, and to freeze nearly $9 billion in Afghan assets overseas.

He said the international community “must make cash available, so the Afghan economy can breathe, and the Afghan people can eat.

“Wealthy, powerful countries cannot ignore the consequences of their decisions on the most vulnerable.

“The first step in any meaningful humanitarian response must be to halt the death spiral of the Afghan economy.

“Without that, even the best-funded and most effective aid operation will not save the people of Afghanistan from an unimaginable future,” he warned.

“We stayed, we delivered, and we are determined to keep delivering. Humanitarian aid is providing a fragile lifeline for millions of Afghans,” he said.

Last year, UN humanitarian partners reached nearly 20 million people across the country with life-saving assistance including food, clean water, health care, protection, shelter, education and winterization.

So far this year, the World Food Programme has reached more than 14 million people with food, nutrition and resilience support.

In February alone, UNICEF reached close to four million people across the country with health services. UNICEF personnel screened nearly one million children for malnutrition in February alone and UNHCR, working in areas prioritized for the return of refugees and internally displaced people, has provided support to more than half a million people so far this year.

Guterres stated that UNFPA reached more than a quarter of a million people between August and December last year with reproductive health and protection services, while OCHA’s funding mechanisms, including the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, were integral to getting funds quickly to where they were most needed.

“Our funding appeal for Afghanistan this year is $4.4 billon – the world’s largest appeal for a single country.

“Together with our partners, we aim to reach 22 million people with food, water, health care, protection, shelter, education and other forms of life-saving aid.

“So far, the appeal is currently less than 13 percent funded,” he said.

In line with this, Guterres appealed to the donor community to “provide unconditional and flexible funding as soon as possible”.

He also voiced his disappointment that high school girls have been barred from going to school.
“I deeply regret that girls’ education above sixth grade remains suspended – a violation of the equal rights of girls that damages the entire country and leaves girls more exposed to violence, poverty and exploitation.

“There is simply no justification for such discrimination.

“Educated girls become educated women who lift their families and communities into a better future.

“I call on those with influence to use it to pressure the de facto authorities to fulfil their promise to reopen schools for all students, without discrimination or further delay,” he stated.

However, he said that while waiting for girls to return to school, the world cannot use this issue as a bargaining tool. He said there is no rationale for withholding humanitarian aid based on this decision by the de facto authorities. “The Afghan people cannot be doubly punished,” he said.

In conclusion, he said: “In the weeks and months ahead, I count on coordinated action to find creative solutions to set the Afghan economy back on its feet.”