UN announces new strategic framework to tackle Afghanistan crisis

The UN team in Afghanistan has launched a strategic planning document, ensuring the coordination of the UN team’s work to reduce the suffering of the people of Afghanistan by saving lives, sustaining essential services, such as health and education, and preserving essential community systems.

The One-UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) aims to help Afghans meet their basic needs.

“This UN system wide strategy will help ensure that Afghans can meet their basic human needs; acting on this now is more important than ever to avoid that an even wider proportion of the population requires lifesaving humanitarian assistance,” said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov.

He said this transitional engagement framework for Afghanistan is an important strategy as it allows the UN to provide essential life-saving humanitarian work and “provide and support basic human needs in Afghanistan.”

He said this framework enables the UN to work with 158 partners to provide the required support and vital assistance to maintain education and health services, to support community-based infrastructure and livelihoods and for the UN to expand assistance to the agricultural sector.

In addition, it will enable the organization to “support all the people of Afghanistan with specific focus on the needs of women and girls.”

This development comes at a critical time for Afghanistan as millions of people are facing extreme financial pressure.

In order to implement this framework, the UN needs $8billion – which includes $4.44 billion previously requested through the Humanitarian Response Plan, launched on 11 January.

The UN requires however an additional $3.6 billion in immediate funding to sustain essential social services such as health and education; support community systems through maintenance of basic infrastructure; and maintain critical capacities for service delivery and promotion of livelihoods and social cohesion, with specific emphasis on socio-economic needs of women and girls.

“The United Nations is grateful to all donors for their continued generous support of relief and recovery efforts in Afghanistan, demonstrating the strong solidarity of the international community with the people of Afghanistan,” said Alakbarov.

According to the UN, staying and delivering at the grassroots level across Afghanistan, the UN and partners will continue to engage in the sustained effort to meet humanitarian and basic human needs of Afghans, in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2615 adopted in December of 2021.