: UN relief chief stresses need to stay and deliver for all Afghans #IndiaNEWS #International Humanitarians have stayed and delivered in Afghanistan in the year since the Taliban takeover, and it is

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UN relief chief stresses need to stay and deliver for all Afghans #IndiaNEWS #International
Humanitarians have stayed and delivered in Afghanistan in the year since the Taliban takeover, and it is imperative that the international community continues to do the same while the de facto authorities must also do their part, the Security Council heard on Monday.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who briefed ambassadors, reported on the ongoing hardships and uncertainty facing Afghans, nearly half of whom – 24 million people – require aid relief to survive.

#Afghanistan is more than a humanitarian crisis. But it is not a hopeless crisis.
Preserving basic service delivery alongside humanitarian assistance remains the only way to prevent a catastrophe even greater than what we have seen in the past year.
My remarks:
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) August 29, 2022

“Afghanistan’s crisis is a humanitarian crisis, but it’s not only that. It’s an economic crisis. It’s a climate crisis. It’s a hunger crisis. It’s a financial crisis. But it’s not a hopeless crisis,�? he said.
A critical situation
Although conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity have long been a “sad reality�? for Afghanistan, Mr. Griffiths outlined why the current situation is so critical.
Firstly, large-scale development assistance has been halted for a year in a country that was already facing severe levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, which have only deteriorated.
Humanitarians are also confronting an “exceptionally challenging�? operating environment, he added, as engaging with the de facto authorities is “labour intensive�?.
Liquidity crisis, rights reversal
Furthermore, there is no confidence in the domestic banking sector which has sparked a liquidity crisis, that has affected aid delivery. A Humanitarian Exchange Facility intended to partially alleviate the liquidity crisis, is still being negotiated with Taliban leaders.
Meanwhile women and girls “have been pushed to the sidelines�?, Mr. Griffiths added. Rights gains have been reversed, and adolescent girls have not attended school in a year.
“In the 21st century, we should not need to explain why girls’ education and women’s empowerment are important to them, to their communities, to their countries, and indeed to all of us,�? he said.
Funding shortfall
The UN relief chief stressed that preserving basic service delivery alongside humanitarian assistance “remains the only way to prevent a catastrophe even greater than what we have seen these many months. �?
He reported that poverty is still deepening, the population continues to grow, and the de facto authorities have no budget to invest in their own future, making it clear that “some development support needs to be restarted�?.