![]() “Building upon what worked last year including tailored efforts across multiple sectors to improve the livelihoods of more than half a million people, there is a pressing need to support further measures to prevent a deeper crisis.” The head of UNDP, Achim Steiner, praised the UN’s “strong, coordinated response to the crisis” saying it proved critical in averting a catastrophe last winter. “Yet the last 12 months have brought cascading crises: a humanitarian emergency massive economic contraction and the crippling of its banking and financial systems in addition to denying access to secondary education to girls and the restrictions on women’s mobility and participation in the economy”. They have survived numerous challenges in the last 40 years and shown enormous resilience”, the report states, officially entitled, One Year in Review: Afghanistan Since August 2021. “The Afghan people have been relentlessly subjected to extremely difficult circumstances. Nearly 700,000 jobs have vanished, said UNDP, further threatening a population reeling from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, drought, and war in Ukraine. “ We cannot fail to do what we know is right, and what we know is possible”, concluded the Emergency Coordinator.The cost of a basket of essentials needed to avoid food poverty has meanwhile risen 35 percent, forcing poorer households to go deeper into debt or sell off assets, just to survive. Noting that the meeting was being held at “a moment of exceptional gravity for the people of Afghanistan”, the senior UN official pointed out that “ we have the advantage of being forewarned of the fate that awaits them if we do not act”.Īcknowledging that the meeting has provided both a chance and an opportunity to do so, he warned that “if we do not act with urgency and with a collective will, then there will be a terrible reckoning”. “The consequences of inaction on these three fronts are clear: Afghanistan will collapse, people will run out of hope, and the region – and indeed the world – will see destabilization increase”, he underscored. ‘Consequences of inaction’Īfghanistan will not get through the winter on emergency aid alone, the UN official flagged, stressing the need for “flexible donor funding” that can be used to ensure salaries for public sector workers and support to basic services, such as health, education, electricity and livelihood.Īfghanistan will not get through the winter on emergency aid alone – UN Emergency Relief CoordinatorĪnd going forward, continued constructive engagement with the de facto authorities is imperative to “clarify what we expect of each other”. Our humanitarian response is effective and continues to scale up, thanks to generous donor support and your sustained engagement”, he stated. The plan is a stopgap measure for over 21 million people who need lifesaving assistance and must be funded as “a matter of priority”. “The United Nations stands firmly with you, and in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan”, said the Relief Coordinator, explaining that next year, the UN would seek its largest-ever funding appeal of $4.5 billion “to help the most vulnerable in Afghanistan”. The OIC met to express their willingness to help avert disaster and contribute to the humanitarian endeavour. “Within a year, 30 per cent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product could be lost altogether, while male unemployment may double to 29 per cent”, he spelled out. Griffiths cautioned that by the middle of next year, universal poverty – reaching 97 per cent of the population – could be “the next grim milestone”. The cost of wheat and fuel are up by around 40 per cent and food now accounts for more than 80 per cent of the average household expenditure.Īnd as international development support has frozen up, basic social services that all Afghans depend on are collapsing. “Families simply do not have the cash for everyday transactions, while prices for key commodities continue to rise”. “This step should be followed by reprogramming of the whole fund to support the Afghan people this winter”, he said. The UN official welcomed the decision by the World Bank's Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to transfer $280 million by the end of December to the UN Children’s Fund ( UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP). ![]() ![]() “The need for liquidity and stabilization of the banking system is now urgent – not only to save the lives of the Afghan people but also to enable humanitarian organizations to respond”, he said. Moreover, this is occurring as the value of the Afghani currency plummets, a lack of confidence in the financial sector destroys trade and the space for borrowing and investment dramatically constricts.
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