OCHA urges action to avert humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

KABUL (TOLONews): The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that an unprecedented funding gap has led to a worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

A young man named Hussain Agha says that due to lack of employment opportunities, he has been forced to shine shoes for the past four years just to feed his children and family.
Hussain Agha Haidari adds that he earns no more than 150 Afghanis per day and has not received any assistance from any organization so far.

He calls on officials to help him find a permanent job.

Haidari, a resident of Kabul, said: “We tried hard to find a job, we knocked on many doors. When nothing worked out, we had no choice but to become cobblers. We earn 100 to 150 Afghanis a day, just enough to bring bread home in the evening.”

Meanwhile, OCHA has released a new report warning that the agency is facing a severe funding shortage.

It notes that for the 2024 fiscal year, only 53% of the $3.06 billion required for the Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded, leaving a gap of approximately $1.43 billion.

In this context, the Ministry of Economy has pointed to the intensifying process of Afghan refugee deportations from neighboring countries and called for sustained international support to Afghanistan.

Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: “OCHA’s report is being released at a time when Afghanistan is facing a large wave of returnees. We urge international organizations to accelerate and prioritize their assistance more than ever before.”

On the other hand, some economic analysts believe that humanitarian aid is only effective in the short term and does not address the root causes of poverty and unemployment.

Economic analyst Mohammad Asif Stanekzai stated: “These are short-term aid efforts aimed at immediate relief. As we’ve mentioned before, to truly eliminate poverty in Afghanistan, this assistance must be invested strategically, in agriculture, infrastructure, and long-term development programs.”

According to OCHA, 67% of aid recipients in Afghanistan, about 14.9 million people, have only received food assistance, while the remaining 41% have benefited from aid in multiple sectors.

OCHA has called on the international community to urgently step in to fill the funding gap, warning that without swift action, humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan face the risk of failure.