UN: Starvation Threatens Wretched Population in Afghanistan

United Nations ( UN) officials have appealed for $800 million to fill a chronic funding gap for Afghanistan.

A senior UN aid official described the situation in the country as "catastrophic" with at least a third of the population expected to face starvation.

"Humanitarian needs are catastrophic, widespread, and increasing," said Wafa Saeed Abdul Latif of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a virtual intervention.

"These humanitarian needs come from decades of conflict and have been exacerbated by drought and the Coronavirus," she added.

She pointed out that the United Nations has appealed for $ 1.3 billion to reach 16 million people in Afghanistan this year, but there is still a gap of $ 800 million."

The UN  has warned that millions of Afghans may face starvation due to conflict, drought, and the Coronavirus pandemic, and said that 14 million people are now standing on the brink of starvation.

"Afghanistan is in the wind due to years of drought, conflict, and economic decline exacerbated by COVID-19," said David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

In his statements from Doha, Beasley called on political leaders to move quickly to avoid this catastrophe.

A number of United Nations agencies warned last week of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Afghanistan after tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes following the advancement of the "Taliban" movement in addition to the spread of hunger.

On the other hand, the European Union suspended development aid payments to Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul to the "Taliban" movement and announced that it would consider whether to enhance humanitarian aid to the country in question.

EU foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell said after the meeting of EU foreign ministers last week that there can be no development assistance payments until the situation" is clear about the Taliban leaders.

He stressed that "the Taliban must respect Security Council resolutions and human rights so that they can obtain funding."