Afghanistan faces major humanitarian crisis as foreign troops leave: UN

Grandi, however, noted that the “overwhelming majority of Afghans, about 39 million,” still remain in Afghanistan.

“They need us – governments, humanitarians, ordinary citizens – to stay with them and stay the course,” he said.

Kabul fell to the Taliban in mid-August as the U.S. prepared to withdraw its military presence from the country after 20 years. Since then, there have been reports of violence by the Islamist militant group, including a suicide attack that killed more than 180 people and attacks with American drones against ISIS-K targets.

Isabelle Moussard Carlsen, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan, told Street Signs Asia on Monday that half the country needs help and half of the children are malnourished after ” decades of conflict and drought “. “

The population is “very vulnerable” and lacks access to food, water, education and health care, he said.

“The current situation on the ground is really an approaching humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

The World Health Organization announced Monday that 12.5 metric tons of drugs and medical supplies had landed in Afghanistan, for the first time since the country came under Taliban control.

Supplies included trauma kits and emergency health kits, and were “sufficient to cover the basic health needs of more than 200,000 people, as well as provide 3,500 surgical procedures and treat 6,500 trauma patients,” the agency said. UN health official in a statement.

However, the WHO also said supplies could only “partially replenish” reserves and ensure services could continue “for now”.

An “increasingly severe drought” in Afghanistan also threatens the livelihoods of more than 7 million people in the country who depend on agriculture and livestock, the United Nations reported this month. in Agriculture and Food.

Carlsen, of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, described the aid as “very dispersed” on Monday ahead of the WHO announcement.

The UN and its partners have a $ 1.3 billion response plan in Afghanistan, but it is only funded about 40 percent and $ 800 million more is needed, the humanitarian agency said.

Carlsen said welfare workers identify priorities in Afghanistan and try to provide essential services to the country.

“It is very important for the international community to understand that humanitarians will not abandon the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

“We stay and deliver. And to do that, we will need all the means to be able to respond to the approaching crisis.”

– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.