China News Agency, United Nations, March 31st. To support humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the United Nations jointly held a high-level donation event with the United Kingdom, Germany and Qatar on the 31st.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the goal of raising funds for Afghanistan this year is $4.4 billion.
Guterres warned that Afghanistan's humanitarian needs have tripled since June last year and continue to grow every day.
Afghanistan is suffering from a crisis of hunger and malnutrition, and the country's economy has virtually collapsed.
International aid agencies can only "reluctantly play a role" due to funding problems, and local partners face greater challenges.
Years of conflict and repeated droughts have led to persistent humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, and the current situation in the country is unprecedented, with more than 24.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Survive.
Food security levels have declined at an alarming rate, with half the population facing acute hunger and 9 million of them in emergency food insecurity.
Guterres said that the decision of relevant parties to stop development support for Afghanistan and freeze Afghanistan's nearly 9 billion US dollars of overseas assets has had a serious impact, and the international community must find ways to help the Afghan people avoid suffering due to these measures.
He noted that rich, powerful countries cannot ignore the impact of their decisions on the most vulnerable.
Countries must provide funds for Afghanistan to support the normal functioning of the Afghan economy and ensure that the Afghan people are not famined.
Guterres emphasized that stopping the "death spiral" of the Afghan economy is the first step in any meaningful humanitarian response, otherwise no aid operation will truly help the Afghan people.
Guterres said the goal of the United Nations and partners is to provide 22 million Afghans with water and food, medical care, shelter facilities, safety and security, education and other life-saving aid measures.
But with fundraising so far reaching only 13% of what the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan needs, strong support from countries is still urgently needed.
The Taliban is reportedly back in power after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
The United States immediately froze Afghan assets in the United States, and then even planned to embezzle half of the funds as "a source of funds to compensate the victims of the '9.11' incident", which was criticized by public opinion.
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