The United Nations has asked for a record $ 5 billion to fund humanitarian aid to Afghanistan this year and secure a future for the country threatened with humanitarian catastrophe.
“It's just an emergency, but 'the fact is that without (this aid plan), there will be no future' for Afghanistan,” said Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, in an interview. Press yesterday Monday from Geneva.
The UN needs $ 4.4 billion from donor countries to fund Afghanistan's humanitarian needs this year. This is the largest amount ever requested for a single country, the UN said in a statement.
The amount will be used for food distribution and support for agriculture, to finance health services, the treatment of malnutrition, the provision of emergency accommodation, access to drinking water and sewerage, as well as education.
About 22 million people, more than half the population of Afghanistan, need this help.
The United Nations needs an additional $ 623 million to help the 5.7 million Afghan refugees living in five neighboring countries, most notably Iran and Pakistan.
Filippo Grady, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, warned that “if the country collapses, (…) then we will see a much bigger exit. “And this movement of population will be difficult to manage in the region and beyond, because it will not stop in the region.”
No money for the Taliban
The Taliban have been in power in Afghanistan since August, ousting the government after foreign troops withdrew from the country after 20 years.
The sanctions regime adopted to persuade Islamists to retreat has plunged the country – which was already heavily dependent on international aid – into an economic crisis. It has been further exacerbated by the drought that has plagued Afghanistan for several years.
To reassure donors, Griffiths insisted that the funds raised would not go to the Taliban, but would be used directly by the 160 or so non-governmental organizations and UN agencies operating in the country.
The UN Security Council decision in December to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid for a year and goodwill moves by the United States helped reassure financial agents who had stopped trading with the country for fear of sanctions. as a result of which Afghanistan is deprived of the necessary liquidity for the functioning of the state.
De facto dialogue
As the international community continues to seek effective means to put pressure on the Taliban to improve the human rights situation, and in particular the rights of women, Grady explained that this assistance “will also create a space for dialogue with the Taliban.” , which is valuable ”.
“Our colleagues in the field talk to them every day, of course they talk about access, traditions, needs, but also about women's work, the return of girls to school, the rights of minorities,” he explained.
“We have to keep this space, because, for the time being, the political part is behind us,” Grady added, acknowledging that it would take time “to reach stability and, who knows, maybe some form of normalization.”
