Humanitarian needs in Afghanistan may reach a level where we may not be able to help, a senior officer of the World Food Organization has warned, adding that funds are running dry and they need urgent assistance. The country plunged into what has now become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises following the Taliban’s takeover last year. 
  
No family in the country has enough to eat, said Margot Van Der Velden, director of emergencies at WFP, adding that it is a very desperate situation in Afghanistan and the need for assistance is very urgent.

At least 23 million of the total 37 million people, roughly two-thirds of the population, are facing acute hunger, she said. The western sanctions on the Taliban after it seized power violently last year have resulted in all but the collapse of the country’s economy. 

“We have now a major economic crisis, so the assistance is very urgent, we need to come ... and bring the food that is required. We also need the cash to flow into this country, need the jobs to be created and it is quite urgent that we get the funding to do so,” Margot was quoted as saying by TOLOnews. 

Recently, UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons issued similar warnings in her briefing to the UNSC.  “We are nearing a tipping point that will see more businesses close, more people unemployed, and falling into poverty. It is approaching a point of irreversibility,” she said. 

She also called for sustained measures— including continued cooperation with the country’s de-facto authority, the Taliban— to revive the Afghan economy. 

Amid growing calls for easing restrictions, the US had recently issued an additional general license aimed at facilitating commercial and financial activity and allowing work with all governing institutions, without restrictions on individuals facing sanctions. 

(SAM)