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Funding dries up as humanitarian needs at all-time high in Afghanistan
The 2023 Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is currently experiencing substantial critical funding gaps amounting to at least $1.3 billion, leaving vulnerable Afghan families staring down the barrel of hunger, disease and even potential death as winter approaches.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Sunday in a statement that with humanitarian needs at an all-time high due to the third consecutive year of drought-like conditions, worsening poverty and heightened vulnerabilities following forty years of conflict, only a short window of opportunity exists to bring in vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter starts, and lives are lost.
According to a recent analysis by humanitarian partners, severe underfunding has already led to a massive reduction in the number of people targeted for food assistance each month – down from 13 million at the beginning of the year to 9 million between March and April, and 5 million people in May, while some 262 static and mobile health facilities have had to discontinue health service provision, impacting access to primary health care services for two million people.
Some 2,800 community-based classes face closure in August affecting more than 141,000 children – more than half of them girls – should no additional funding be received, UNOCHA said.
Further cuts in food rations are inevitable over the coming months if additional funds are not received, the statement read.
“Funding is urgently needed to get ahead of winter and pre-position critical humanitarian supplies before many areas get cut off in October due to freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.”
Terrorist activities continue to be observed along Afghanistan borders and along the India–Pakistan–Afghanistan corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS, Lavrov pointed to ongoing concerns in the Middle East, including its Asian regions.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration with India at the United Nations to advance a global counter-terrorism convention.
Lavrov stated that while the draft convention has already been prepared, consensus on its adoption has not yet been reached.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about militant threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed the concerns saying that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country.
Noorullah Noori, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, held a phone conversation with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, to discuss bilateral border cooperation.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening border collaboration, with a particular focus on the ongoing renovation and updating of border markers. They also agreed to accelerate joint technical and legal meetings to enhance coordination.
As part of the agreement, the next meeting of senior border officials from Afghanistan and Iran is scheduled to take place in Iran in 1405 (2026–2027).
The Director General of the OIC Mission in Kabul, Mohammed Saeed Alayyash, met on Sunday with Rolf Dieter Reinhard, Head of the German Liaison Office for Afghanistan in Doha and Acting Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy in Afghanistan.
During the discussion, both sides exchanged views on the latest developments in Afghanistan. They focused on the security situation, as well as the humanitarian and economic conditions faced by the Afghan people.
The two officials also reviewed recent political developments and broader challenges in the country, highlighting the need for continued international engagement and support.
The meeting emphasized the importance of ongoing cooperation and coordination between the OIC Mission and the German side in addressing Afghanistan’s challenges and in supporting efforts to promote stability and improve the humanitarian situation.
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