Latest News
UN seeks $600 million to avert Afghanistan humanitarian crisis
The United Nations is convening an aid conference in Geneva on Monday in an effort to raise more than $600 million for Afghanistan, warning of a humanitarian crisis.
According to the UN, even before the Islamic Emirate’s seizure of Kabul last month, half the population – or 18 million people – was dependent on aid. That figure looks set to increase due to drought and shortages of cash and food, U.N. officials and aid groups warn.
An abrupt end to billions of dollars in foreign donations following the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government and the ensuing victory of the Islamic Emirate has heaped more pressure on U.N. programmes, Reuters reported.
However, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says his organisation is struggling financially: “At the present moment the U.N. is not even able to pay its salaries to its own workers,” he told reporters on Friday.
The Geneva conference, due to begin on Monday afternoon, will be attended by top U.N. officials including Guterres, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, as well as dozens of government representatives including German foreign minister Heiko Maas.
According to Reuters about a third of the $606 million being sought would be used by the U.N. World Food Programme which found that 93% of the 1,600 Afghans it surveyed in August and September were not consuming sufficient foods, mostly because they could not get access to cash to pay for it.
“It’s now a race against time and the snow to deliver life-saving assistance to the Afghan people who need it most,” said WFP deputy regional director Anthea Webb. “We are quite literally begging and borrowing to avoid food stocks running out.”
The World Health Organization, another U.N. agency that’s part of the appeal, is seeking to shore up hundreds of health facilities at risk of closure after donors backed out.
Latest News
Continued aid to Afghanistan vital for regional security: Kazakh president
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emphasized the continuation of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, stating that the ongoing provision of such aid plays an important role in ensuring regional security.
Speaking at the international conference “Peace and Trust” in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, Tokayev described addressing complex humanitarian challenges and the reconstruction of Afghanistan as a necessity.
“To ensure regional security, we consider it essential to continue providing assistance to Afghanistan, including by strengthening international efforts to address complex humanitarian issues and the reconstruction of this country. Kazakhstan remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan through humanitarian aid, educational projects, trade development, and food security initiatives,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts believe that sustainable improvement of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan requires broad cooperation from the international community and support for the country’s economic development.
“Investment can be defined as one of the fundamental drivers of the economic cycle, and whenever Afghan traders do not take their money out of the country and instead invest domestically, it naturally leads to greater growth and dynamism in Afghanistan’s economy,” said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic analyst.
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan continues, reports by international relief organizations indicate that millions of citizens of the country are in urgent need of food, health, and livelihood assistance.
The reduction in funding for aid organizations, the impacts of climate change, and the return of migrants have increased concerns about a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.
Latest News
Islamic Emirate declines to attend Tehran meeting on Afghanistan
Latest News
Sirajuddin Haqqani: A government that intimidates its people is not a true government
Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said during a visit to Khost province on Friday that any government which rules through fear cannot be considered a true government.
“A government is one that is loved by its people, one that serves them with respect and compassion, and from whose behavior people learn ethics and sincerity,” he said.
Haqqani also stressed that Afghans who opposed the Islamic Emirate in the past should be tolerated and treated in a way that helps eliminate hostility and animosity, paving the way for national cohesion.
-
Sport4 days agoILT20: Desert Vipers edge Gulf Giants in historic super over thriller
-
Latest News2 days agoMuttaqi: Afghanistan’s progress requires both religious and modern education
-
Regional4 days agoSix Pakistani soldiers killed in TTP attack in Kurram District
-
Business4 days agoTrade bodies warn almost 11,000 Afghan transit containers stuck at Karachi port
-
World4 days agoPowerful 7.6 earthquake hits northern Japan, tsunami warnings issued
-
Latest News3 days agoTrump calls Afghanistan a ‘hellhole’ country as US expands immigration restrictions
-
Sport5 days agoSorkh Poshan Khafi defeats Sarsabz Yashlar 4-0 in Afghanistan Champions League
-
Sport3 days agoCommanding wins for Arman FC and Sarsabz Yashlar in Afghanistan Champions League
