Afghanistan needs immediate and sustained international assistance to avoid a bigger humanitarian crisis, according to the head of the United Nations refugee agency, who warned of global consequences if this occurred.
“The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains desperate,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement after a three-day visit to the South Asian nation.
“If public services and the economic collapse, we will see even greater suffering, instability, and displacement both within and outside the country,” he added in Wednesday’s statement.
“The international community must therefore engage with Afghanistan – and quickly – in order to prevent a much bigger humanitarian crisis that will have not only regional, but global implications.”
Grandi claims that more than 18 million Afghans, or almost half the country, needed humanitarian assistance even before the Taliban seized control last month.
In a country plagued by drought and the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 3.5 million Afghans have already been uprooted.
Since the Taliban took power, poverty and hunger have risen dramatically, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week at an international assistance conference that Afghans are facing “perhaps their most perilous hour.”
Donors at the conference pledged more than $1.1 billion to help Afghanistan.
