Latest News
UN and partners seek $1.3 billion to help 16 million Afghans
The UN and humanitarian partners in Afghanistan need $1.3 billion to assist almost 16 million people in need of life-saving assistance as a result of decades of conflict, recurrent natural disasters, and the added impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued by the UN on Tuesday night, the organization said the number of people targeted for assistance is over a six-fold increase compared to four years ago, when 2.3 million people were targeted for assistance.
According to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, the situation of children is particularly worrying.
“It is projected that nearly one in two children under the age of five will face acute malnutrition this year,” Dujarric said.
Hunger is “soaring” as people have lost their livelihoods, he added, noting that in 2021, nearly half of Afghanistan’s population will need humanitarian assistance to survive.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), across Afghanistan, about 18.4 million people are in need of assistance, a number that rose sharply last year with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“While enduringly resilient, people are increasingly desperate, resorting to debt and other more dangerous coping mechanisms to survive including marrying off their young daughters and sending their children to work,” said Parvathy Ramaswami, Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan.
The survival of the 15.7 million most vulnerable depends on humanitarians operating there receiving sufficient financial resources to deliver a response, she noted, adding that “the consequences of late or inadequate funding are very real.”
The outlook for 2021 has worsened further due to significant unmet needs last year due to funding shortfalls and the acute focus on COVID-19, as well as the slow rollout of complementary development assistance, a response plan noted.
Ramaswami went on to note that in spite of the bleak situation, there is “still cause for hope” with the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations.
“After enduring decades of war, people are mentally exhausted and hungry for peace, yearning for an end to civilian deaths and suffering.”
She also highlighted the need for a permanent ceasefire or a persistent reduction in violence, to allow humanitarians to assess the situation, especially in the hard to reach areas.
“Until this much hoped for peace becomes a reality, the humanitarian community stands beside the people of Afghanistan during what surely must be one of the country’s difficult periods,” the UN official added, stressing “we all must do more, stretch higher, and do better to deliver life-saving assistance to those who need it most.”
John Bass, US acting under secretary of state for political affairs, will travel to Qatar and Pakistan April 26-30, US State Department announced on Friday.
In Doha, Qatar, he will meet with senior Qatari government officials and other diplomatic missions to discuss support for Afghanistan and shared security interests in the region, US State Department said in a statement.
In Islamabad, Pakistan, Under Secretary Bass will meet with senior Pakistani government officials to discuss a range of regional and bilateral issues as part of the U.S.-Pakistani partnership, the statement added.
John Bass served as US ambassador to Afghanistan under Donald Trump administration between December 2017 and January 2020.
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
US diplomat Bass travels to Qatar and Pakistan to discuss Afghanistan, regional issues
Attack Energy and Abu Muslim secure wins in respective ACL matches
Saar: 46th anniversary of 7th Saur coup in Afghanistan discussed
Tripartite trade meeting held in Kabul to boost regional connectivity
Afghanistan beat Iraq 5-3, inch closer to Futsal World Cup berth
Dead body of Quran-burner found in Norway
ATN secures rights to produce, broadcast second season of KPL
Yadav hits 156.7 km/h as Lucknow trump Bengaluru in IPL match
Afghanistan’s national futsal team ‘ready for’ group stage of Asian Cup
Afghanistan, Pakistan agree to abandon barter trade, establish banking relationships
Saar: 46th anniversary of 7th Saur coup in Afghanistan discussed
Tahawol: Pakistan’s security concerns from Afghan soil discussed
Saar: Visits by foreign diplomats to Kabul discussed
Tahawol: Calls for handing over Afghanistan’s seat to IEA discussed
Malaysian delegation trip to Kabul discussed
-
Latest News4 days agoRashid Khan named AWCC’s brand ambassador
-
Regional5 days agoIranian president lands in Pakistan for three-day visit to mend ties
-
Sport5 days agoKolkata beat Bengaluru by one run in IPL as Kohli fumes at dismissal
-
Sport5 days agoACL: Aino Mina 3-0 Istiqlal Kabul; Attack Energy 3-0 Khadim
-
Climate Change5 days agoRescuers race to reach those trapped by floods in China’s Guangdong
-
World4 days agoMalaysian navy helicopters collide in mid-air, 10 killed
-
Sport4 days agoJaiswal ton powers Rajasthan to big IPL win
-
World3 days agoNorth Korea officials visit Iran in a rare public trip