Don't cut off vital aid to war-torn state, UN pleads

United Nations agencies in Afghanistan are calling on the international community to keep aid flowing to the war-torn country, where millions of people are going hungry as the pandemic adds to the strains.

"There's an awful humanitarian crisis unfolding; the decision now to halt funding of any level to Afghanistan will have absolutely horrendous consequences," said Mary Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Program's country director in Afghanistan, who on Wednesday joined a daily UN news conference to update media on the situation.

The Western-backed Afghanistan government fell under Taliban control on Sunday, two weeks before United States troops are set to complete their withdrawal from the country.

The development marked the end of two decades of conflict that began after a US-led coalition drove the Taliban from power in 2001 for refusing to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, considered the mastermind of the attacks against the US on Sept 11, 2001.

The country has suffered from decades of conflict. That, combined with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, recurring natural disasters including drought, and deepening poverty, have taken a heavy toll on the population.

According to McGroarty, who briefed reporters via video from the capital Kabul, 14 million Afghans are suffering from hunger, more than 2 million children face malnutrition, and numerous others are having trouble seeking shelter and facing health problems.

"The needs are enormous. To scale back on funding now would only add to the instability and the desperation," she said. "You saw the desperation at the airport.... I would urge the international community to rethink if they are considering reducing the funding.

"Now is the time to act in Afghanistan. Now is the time that the Afghan people need the international community to stand beside them."

McGroarty urged donors to provide the $200 million needed to get food into the country so it can get to communities before winter sets in and roads are blocked.

Her remarks came after many European countries, including Germany and Finland, announced that they have suspended development aid to the country after the Taliban's return to power.

The European Union, which in November had promised to donate $1.4 billion to Afghanistan over the next four years in long-term and emergency assistance, also confirmed its decision to halt funding.

Frozen assets

The US on Sunday froze Afghan government reserves held in US banks. The action would block the Taliban from accessing nearly $9.5 billion in reserve assets, a sum that amounts to about a third of the country's yearly economic output.

Representatives from the UN agencies worry that moves to cut funds at this time will exacerbate the suffering.

According to the UN, even before the advance of the Taliban in recent weeks, some 18.4 million Afghans require humanitarian assistance.

Caroline Van Buren, the representative of the UN refugee agency in Afghanistan, who also spoke at the news conference, said tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes in recent weeks.

"Currently, the overwhelming majority of displacement is taking place within Afghanistan itself. That's where humanitarian efforts also need to be focused," she said.

More than half a million people have been displaced within the country this year, and 80 percent of them are women and children, Van Buren said.

The UN has about 300 international staff and 3,000 Afghan workers in Afghanistan. UN spokesman Stephane Durjarric said on Wednesday that about 100 of the international workers would be moved to Kazakhstan.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.