UN says aid operations in Afghanistan face ‘critical’ funding gap

As humanitarian needs remain substantial in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, the United Nations has said that aid operations in Afghanistan face a critical funding gap

Kabul: As humanitarian needs remain substantial in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, the United Nations has said that aid operations in Afghanistan face a critical funding gap, according to TOLOnews.

According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA), less than 25 per cent of the USD 3.2 billion appeal to aid more than 21 million people nationwide has been financed, according to Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

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On Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that aid operations in the country face a critical funding gap as humanitarian needs remain severe. More than halfway through the year, the USD 3.2 billion appeals to help more than 21 million people across the country is less than 25 per cent funded.

There are critical funding gaps amounting to USD 1.3 billion, with many programmes already ended or considerably scaled back due to insufficient resources and aid pipelines at risk of imminent rupture, including for food assistance. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that we only have a short window of opportunity to procure and position vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter begin, Farhan Haq told a briefing, according to TOLOnews.

According to some analysts, as humanitarian aid declines, the economic situation of the country’s citizens would get worse.

“Cutting off aid will be disastrous in a situation where Afghanistan does not have a conventional economy and is in need of international aid, and the poor people who depend on this aid would lose their bread,” said economist Azerakhsh Hafezi, according to TOLOnews.

Twenty million Afghans, or 44 per cent of the country’s population, lack access to enough food, according to a previous assessment by the International Committee of the Red Cross, TOLOnews reported.

Notably, Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worst humanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger.

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the law and order situation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts.

The group banned women from going to schools. Later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working with aid agencies. Earlier this year, the Taliban also imposed a ban on salons, which were a major employment source for women.