UN to spend $5.1 bn on 2022 aid for Afghanistan

dpa Geneva UN aid for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries will cost at least 5.1 billion dollars this year, according to a key UN ag...

dpa GenevaUN aid for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries will cost at least 5.1 billion dollars this year, according to a key UN agency.The UN Office for Emergency Relief (OCHA) announced in Geneva on Tuesday that this is the largest humanitarian appeal the United Nations has ever made for a country.“Without support, tens of thousands of children risk dying from malnutrition because the most basic health services have collapsed,” OCHA said.According to UN figures, 4.7 million people in Afghanistan are expected to suffer from severe malnutrition this year, including 3.9 million children. Without additional aid, 131,000 children are at risk of starvation, it said.“A huge humanitarian disaster is looming,” said UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths. Such appeals for donations are primarily directed at governments and foundations.The US announced an additional 308 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan on Tuesday.“This contribution reflects a continued scale up of the United States’ humanitarian assistance in alignment with an unwavering commitment to aid vulnerable Afghans, and this new funding brings total US humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and to Afghan refugees in the region to nearly 782 million dollars since October 2021,” National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne announced.She made it clear that the funds would not flow through the Taliban government, but through independent aid organizations.Afghanistan’s economy collapsed after the chaotic withdrawal of the US and its allies and the takeover by the militant Islamist Taliban in August.  The old government had received about 8.5 billion dollars in military and civilian aid annually, but foreign donors cut this off after the Taliban’s takeover. Aid money had financed about 75 per cent of government spending, including the health and education systems.Many donors now find themselves in a dilemma. They do not want to help the Taliban stabilize their regime - which oppresses women, disregards human rights and excludes other political forces.According to observers, however, the suspension of aid and sanctions mainly affects the population.The United Nations needs around 4.4 billion dollars for humanitarian aid to support 22 million people in the country itself. This includes food aid, support for farmers, health services, emergency shelters, clean water supply and schools.In addition, almost 6 million Afghans and their hosts in five neighbouring countries, including Pakistan and Iran, are to be supported.Since no money is to go directly to the Taliban, aid organizations will play an increasingly important role. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Tuesday of difficulties in implementing UN aid. Providing money is of little help if “the outside world and the Taliban government do not work quickly to ensure that cash is available in the country”, NRC head Jan Egeland said.Aid agencies are having massive difficulties getting money into Afghanistan. With the Taliban takeover, international remittances into the country through the SWIFT banking network system have been suspended.Billions of dollars in reserves parked abroad by the Afghan central bank were also frozen, stopping regular cash deliveries to the country.