Aid operations face critical funding gap

KABUL (TOLOnews): The United Nations said that aid operations in Afghanistan face a critical funding gap as humanitarian needs remain severe.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told a press briefing that based on the information of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA), the $3.2 billion appeal to help more than 21 million people across the country is less than 25 percent funded.
“On Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that aid operations in the country face a critical funding gap as humanitarian needs remain severe. More than halfway through the year, the $3.2 billion appeal to help more than 21 million people across the country is less than 25 percent funded. There are critical funding gaps amounting to $1.3 billion, with many programmes already ended or considerably scaled back due to insufficient resources and aid pipelines at risk of imminent rupture, including for food assistance. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that we only have a short window of opportunity to procure and position vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter begin,” Farhan Haq told the briefing.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy considers the aid of relief organizations important in the country.
According to Abdul Latif Nazari, a deputy in the Ministry of Economy, the UN and other international organizations have to provide more humanitarian aid to the needy Afghans.
“The role of the aid organizations under the framework of the UN is beneficial for the economic growth and development of Afghanistan, including the improvement of the living conditions,” Nazari noted.
Some economists said that as humanitarian help decreases, the nation’s residents’ economic conditions will deteriorate.
“Cutting off aid will be disastrous in a situation where Afghanistan does not have a conventional economy and is in need of international aid, and the poor people who depend on this aid would lose their bread,” said Azerakhsh Hafezi, an economist.
Previously, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a report that about twenty million Afghans, or 44% of the nation’s population, lack access to enough food.