After the Taliban took over last August, UN agencies and their partners remained in Afghanistan, providing aid to nearly 23 million peopleor nearly 94% of all people who need assistance.
Humanitarian organizations have expanded their operations to reach communities across all 34 provinces, and their work saved lives and even successfully prevented hunger last winter.
A ‘tragic reality’
Allocations from two UN humanitarian funds also play a key role in preventing the collapse of the health and education sectors by ensuring essential workers continue to be paid.
However, even with this large response, the scale of the need far exceeds the capacity of aid partnersUN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, Dr Ramiz Alakbarov, speak on Thursday.
He stressed that this “tragic reality” will continue unless a working economy and banking system are restored, girls can officially go back to school and women and girls. able to participate meaningfully and safely in all aspects of social, political and economic life, including humanitarian work.
Many ‘red flags’
“History has shown us time and time again, that we ignore the red flags of today in the face of tomorrow’s dangersAlakbarov said in a statement.
“And in Afghanistan today, red flags are both numerous and varied — from dire climate projections, to an economy in equilibrium, and increasing restrictions on women and girls, excluding them from society”.
Humanitarian action is essential in keeping the Afghan people alive, maintaining basic services and boosting the economy at a time when there are no alternatives.
About 7.7 million citizens, including 3 million women and girls, received health care support this year, contributing to a reduction in maternal, infant and child mortality.
Additional humanitarian assistance has been provided in the form of emergency cash to cover needs such as food, shelter, protection and health, as well as cash to support jobs and livelihoods, so much-needed liquidity injection into the economy.
© UNICEF / Azizzullah Karimi
Girls in a learning center at Gulab Khail village in Maidan Wardak province, Afghanistan.
‘Poverty of Hope’
However, OCHA warns that the future looks increasingly bleak without concerted efforts to address the structural dynamics of demand and vulnerability.
Today, about 25 million Afghans live in poverty. Furthermore, some 900,000 jobs could be lost this year as businesses struggle to survive, and women and girls remain without secondary education and formal economics.
Alakbarov called for greater commitment to meeting the needs of saving lives and supporting vulnerable communities.
“People in Afghanistan have long experienced financial poverty, but now increasingly condemned for a life filled with poverty of hopes and aspirations. We cannot let this happen,” he said.
