“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.

#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

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”.

A $4.4 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan currently has a gap of $3.14 billion, he said.

With winter approaching, more than $600 million is urgently needed to support priority preparedness activities, such as upgrades and repairs to shelters, as well as provision of warm clothes and blankets. 

Additionally, $154 million is needed to pre-position supplies, including food and livelihood assistance, before the winter weather cuts off access to some areas of the country. (ILKHA)