{"id":5678,"date":"2023-04-10T16:03:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T16:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5678"},"modified":"2023-04-10T16:07:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T16:07:29","slug":"afghanistan-urgently-needs-800-million-un-food-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/asia\/central-asia\/afghanistan\/afghanistan-urgently-needs-800-million-un-food-agency\/2023\/04\/10\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan urgently needs $800 million :UN food agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Islamabad<\/span> (AFP)<\/span> –<\/span> The<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> food<\/span> agency<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> it<\/span> urgently<\/span> needed<\/span> $800<\/span> million<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> six<\/span> months<\/span> to<\/span> help<\/span> Afghanistan,<\/span> which<\/span> faces<\/span> its<\/span> biggest<\/span> hunger<\/span> risk<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> quarter<\/span> century.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>After<\/span> the<\/span> Taliban<\/span> takeover<\/span> in<\/span> August<\/span> 2021<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> subsequent<\/span> economic<\/span> collapse,<\/span> aid<\/span> agencies<\/span> have<\/span> provided<\/span> Afghans<\/span> with<\/span> food,<\/span> education<\/span> and<\/span> medical<\/span> care.<\/span> However,<\/span> distribution<\/span> was<\/span> severely<\/span> hampered<\/span> last<\/span> December<\/span> when<\/span> the<\/span> Taliban<\/span> issued<\/span> a<\/span> decree<\/span> banning<\/span> women<\/span> from<\/span> working<\/span> in<\/span> domestic<\/span> and<\/span> international<\/span> non-governmental<\/span> organizations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> participate<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> ban,<\/span> but<\/span> said<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Taliban-led<\/span> government<\/span> had<\/span> banned<\/span> Afghan<\/span> women<\/span> from<\/span> working<\/span> in<\/span> domestic<\/span> institutions.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> World<\/span> Food<\/span> Program<\/span> said<\/span> women<\/span> aid<\/span> workers<\/span> play<\/span> a<\/span> vital<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> delivering<\/span> the<\/span> agency’s<\/span> food<\/span> and<\/span> nutrition<\/span> assistance<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> make<\/span> \u201cevery<\/span> possible<\/span> effort\u201d<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> this<\/span> going,<\/span> while<\/span> also<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> ensure<\/span> the<\/span> active<\/span> involvement<\/span> of<\/span> female<\/span> staff.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe<\/span> WFP<\/span> urgently<\/span> needs<\/span> $800<\/span> million<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> six<\/span> months<\/span> to<\/span> continue<\/span> providing<\/span> assistance<\/span> to<\/span> people<\/span> in<\/span> need<\/span> across<\/span> Afghanistan,\u201d<\/span> the<\/span> organization<\/span> said.<\/span> \u201cCatastrophic<\/span> hunger<\/span> knocks<\/span> on<\/span> Afghanistan’s<\/span> doors<\/span> and<\/span> unless<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> support<\/span> is<\/span> sustained,<\/span> hundreds<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> more<\/span> Afghans<\/span> will<\/span> need<\/span> assistance<\/span> to<\/span> survive.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> U.N.<\/span> said<\/span> Monday<\/span> that<\/span> its<\/span> Afghan<\/span> operations<\/span> remain<\/span> severely<\/span> under-funded,<\/span> with<\/span> $249<\/span> million<\/span> reported<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> confirmed<\/span> for<\/span> 2023,<\/span> nearly<\/span> one-third<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> amount<\/span> received<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> period<\/span> in<\/span> 2022.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It<\/span> said<\/span> Afghanistan<\/span> is<\/span> dealing<\/span> with<\/span> its<\/span> third<\/span> consecutive<\/span> year<\/span> of<\/span> drought-like<\/span> conditions,<\/span> a<\/span> second<\/span> year<\/span> of<\/span> crippling<\/span> economic<\/span> decline,<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> still<\/span> suffering<\/span> from<\/span> decades<\/span> of<\/span> conflict<\/span> and<\/span> natural<\/span> disasters.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe<\/span> total<\/span> ‘immediate’<\/span> funding<\/span> requirements<\/span> to<\/span> address<\/span> critical<\/span> gaps<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> coming<\/span> three<\/span> months<\/span> is<\/span> $717.4<\/span> million,\u201d<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> statement<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> agency’s<\/span> office<\/span> for<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> affairs.<\/span> \u201cThis<\/span> is<\/span> all<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> $4.38<\/span> billion<\/span> funding<\/span> shortfall<\/span> needed<\/span> for<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> assistance<\/span> in<\/span> 2023.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Afghanistan<\/span> was<\/span> said<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> world’s<\/span> least-funded<\/span> operation<\/span> despite<\/span> being<\/span> the<\/span> world’s<\/span> largest<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> crisis.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Taliban<\/span> takeover<\/span> has<\/span> pushed<\/span> millions<\/span> of<\/span> Afghans<\/span> into<\/span> poverty<\/span> and<\/span> hunger<\/span> after<\/span> foreign<\/span> aid<\/span> stopped<\/span> almost<\/span> overnight.Through<\/span> sanctions<\/span> on<\/span> Taliban<\/span> rulers,<\/span> a<\/span> freeze<\/span> on<\/span> bank<\/span> transfers<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> freeze<\/span> on<\/span> Afghanistan’s<\/span> foreign<\/span> exchange<\/span> reserves.<\/span> ,<\/span> limited<\/span> access<\/span> to<\/span> international<\/span> institutions<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> external<\/span> funding<\/span> that<\/span> underpinned<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> aid-dependent<\/span> economy<\/span> before<\/span> U.S.<\/span> and<\/span> NATO<\/span> forces<\/span> withdrew.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Acting<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Amir<\/span> Khan<\/span> Muttaki<\/span> said<\/span> Afghan<\/span> assets<\/span> had<\/span> been<\/span> illegally<\/span> and<\/span> unjustly<\/span> frozen.<\/span> He<\/span> called<\/span> for<\/span> Afghanistan’s<\/span> seat<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> handed<\/span> over<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Taliban-led<\/span> government.<\/span> It<\/span> is<\/span> still<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> administration<\/span> of<\/span> former<\/span> President<\/span> Ashraf<\/span> Ghani.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> video<\/span> statement<\/span> shared<\/span> Monday<\/span> by<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Ministry<\/span> deputy<\/span> spokesperson<\/span> Hafiz<\/span> Zia<\/span> Ahmad,<\/span> Muttaki<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> UN<\/span> office<\/span> in<\/span> Kabul<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> international<\/span> organizations<\/span> were<\/span> open.<\/span> In<\/span> his<\/span> remarks,<\/span> he<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> directly<\/span> mention<\/span> the<\/span> ban<\/span> on<\/span> UN<\/span> personnel<\/span> in<\/span> Afghanistan.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Islamabad (AFP) – The United Nations food agency said on Monday it urgently needed $800 million over the next six months to help Afghanistan, which faces its biggest hunger risk in a quarter century. After the Taliban takeover in August 2021 and the subsequent economic collapse, aid agencies have provided Afghans with food, education and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2418,562],"tags":[3636,3637,73,81,3631,3632,3633,3634,3635],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/UN.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5678"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5681,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions\/5681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}