WFP: We need $800 million in urgent aid to help Afghanistan

The World Food Program (WFP) says it urgently needs $800 million to help Afghanistan in the next six months.

This appeal comes on the heels of the Islamic Emirate’s ban on women working for the United Nations in the country.

WFP says however that female aid workers play a vital role in delivering food aid and it will do “everything possible” to ensure that its female employees continue to work.

The United Nations meanwhile said its operations in Afghanistan are severely underfunded. It is reported that the United Nations has received approval for $249 million for 2023.

This figure is almost a third of the amount received in 2022.

Afghanistan is grappling with drought for the third year in a row and a crippling economic downturn for the second year. The country is also still suffering from decades of conflict and natural disasters.

The United Nations previously said that despite being the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, Afghanistan has the lowest budget in the world.

The United Nations meanwhile said it hopes that in the coming weeks it will be able to reach an agreement with the Islamic Emirate on the return of its female employees to their offices.