UN: FAMINE THREATENS SIX MILLION AFGHANS AS CRISES GROW

Tue 30 August 2022:

With six million people at risk of famine, the UN’s top humanitarian official has pleaded with donors to unfreeze funds for development in Afghanistan that were cut off when the Taliban seized power a year ago.

Martin Griffiths informed the United Nations Security Council that there are many problems facing Afghanistan, including those related to the economy, the environment, hunger, and the financial situation. He urged donors to send $770 million right once to help Afghans endure the upcoming colder months.

RESUME AID TO TALIBAN-RUN AFGHANISTAN, RED CROSS URGES

Conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity “have long been a sad reality” in Afghanistan, but he said what makes the current situation “so critical” is the halt to large-scale development aid.

“Poverty is deepening, the population is still growing, and the de facto authorities have no budget to invest in their own future. It’s clear to us that some development support needs to be restarted,” Griffiths said.

More than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million people need humanitarian help and six million are at risk of famine. More than a million children are “estimated to be suffering from the most severe, life-threatening form of malnutrition” and could die without proper treatment, he said.

AFGHANISTAN’S FORMER PRESIDENT GHANI AND ADVISERS FLED WITH AROUND $500,000: US WATCHDOG

“Afghanistan’s de facto authorities must also do their part. Bureaucratic interferences and procedures slow down humanitarian assistance when it is needed most. Female humanitarian aid workers … must be allowed to work unhindered and securely. And girls must be allowed to continue their education,” he said.

Griffiths said $614m is urgently required to prepare for winter – including repairing and upgrading shelters and providing warm clothes and blankets – and an additional $154m to organise food and other supplies before the weather restricts access to certain areas.

With more than 70 percent of Afghans living in rural areas, Griffiths warned that if agriculture and livestock production are not protected “millions of lives and livelihoods will be risked, and the country’s capacity to produce food imperilled.”

OIC, ISLAMIC BANK SIGN HUMANITARIAN TRUST FUND FOR AFGHANISTAN PACT

He said the country’s banking and liquidity crisis, and the extreme difficulty of international financial transactions must also be tackled.

“The consequences of inaction on both the humanitarian and development fronts will be catastrophic and difficult to reverse,” Griffiths warned.

Foreign nations have also frozen billions of dollars in Afghan central bank reserves, most of which are kept in the United States, to stop them from coming into the hands of the Taliban.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent