The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expresses concern that the international community has provided only a small budget for the continuation of aid programs in Afghanistan for the current year, and the lack of funds has threatened to suspend the continuation of most programs.
OCHA published a report on Sunday and said that more than $3 billion was requested for the continuation of humanitarian programs in Afghanistan in 2024, but only a small part of it has been provided so far.
This United Nations agency said: “In 2023, humanitarian partners in Afghanistan provided assistance in some way to at least 32.1 million people. But in 2024, only $87 million of the $3.06 billion budget was received for the plan to meet humanitarian needs, which has put the continuation of many programs at risk.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that last year due to budget cuts, the organization was forced to stop providing food aid to 18 million Afghans.
OCHA said in the report that from January to December 2023, humanitarian aid donors provided food and alternative livelihoods to 26.3 million Afghans and health services to 16.5 million people.
The United Nations has announced that a total of 32.1 million people received aid in 2023, with 27.6 million directly benefiting. The organization has spent $1.47 billion in 2023 for its programs, including $850 million from the 2022 budget.
Prolonged settlement, widespread presence of explosives, continued restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms, increased gender-based violence, child labor, early marriages, climate change, especially earthquakes and droughts, the return of millions of migrants from Pakistan and internally displaced persons, Ocha said. Afghanistan remains primarily a security crisis, the agency said.
According to the United Nations humanitarian aid plan in 2024, more than half of Afghanistan’s population will need humanitarian aid in some way.
The United Nations has emphasized that among all the needy, 17.3 million of the most vulnerable people, including those with disabilities, are covered by the aid mission.
Fazal Mohammad Saber, Chargé d’affaires at the Afghan Embassy in Ashgabat, and Faryal Leghari, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan, met on Saturday to discuss strengthening bilateral trade relations, addressing issues faced by Afghan refugees, and facilitating the visa issuance process for Afghans in Pakistan.
The Afghan Embassy in Ashgabat said in a post on X that both sides emphasized the need to expand relations between the two countries to address ongoing issues.
During the meeting, Leghari described the “good” relations between Kabul and Islamabad as important and pledged to convey the contents of the meeting to officials in her country.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate’s Ambassador in Islamabad and the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan also discussed bilateral relations between Kabul and Tehran, regional developments, Afghan refugees, and related topics.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Mohammad Reza Bahrami, Director General for South Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held an online meeting to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan.
In a post on X, Sadiq said that the meeting was constructive, and both sides expressed their concerns about terrorism as a shared challenge and reviewed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and regional engagement with Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan has decided to accept an ambassador from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to Astana in the near future and to upgrade its diplomatic mission in Kabul to ambassadorial level, an Afghan official said on Saturday.
The decision was conveyed by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister to his Afghan counterpart and is being viewed as a significant signal of renewed political engagement between the two countries, Zia Ahmad, Director of Public Communication of Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, said.
Russia is the only country that has formally recognised the IEA government that seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have all designated ambassadors to Kabul, in a step towards recognition.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has expressed openness to allowing an Islamic Emirate-appointed Afghan representative to operate in Berlin, even without formally recognizing the government.
Dorbindt has told Welt TV that he is prepared “to find the appropriate agreement with those responsible in Afghanistan to enable” repatriation of convicted criminals of Afghan nationality.
“If the Taliban (IEA) send Afghan representatives here who may then serve in Berlin, then that can work even without diplomatic recognition. And I would have no problem if we had a contact person here on site for problems we want to solve,” he said.
In August, Germany resumed flying convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country, after pausing deportations following the IEA’s takeover in August 2021, with the support of what Berlin said were “key regional partners”.
The United Nations, however, has criticised the German interior minister’s plan to deport criminals to Afghanistan, citing human rights issues.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has also stated that there would be no relations with the IEA beyond the current contacts.
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