The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNITED NATIONS
OCHA Press conference 30 March 2022 - Humanitarian Donors Urged to Step up Again for Afghanistan
Humanitarian Donors Urged to Step up Again for Afghanistan
Ahead of a "High-level Pledging Event on Supporting the Humanitarian Response in Afghanistan 2022" (31 March), Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, alongside with donor countries urged today at a press conference that Afghanistan is trapped in a humanitarian crisis with 23 million people facing acute food insecurity. Action is required now to stop the situation from getting worse.
The UN-coordinated relief operation – the largest but not the only one in Afghanistan – asks for $4.4 billion, three times the amount requested in 2021. Humanitarian agencies have scaled up assistance and are ready to expand, stressing the central role of women in delivering aid.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), last year, international donors showed remarkable generosity for Afghans in need. With US$1.8 billion disbursed, aid groups were able to reach 20 million people with life-saving food, clean water, healthcare, protection, shelter, education and winter supplies as Afghanistan went through profound turmoil and international isolation.
At tomorrows "High-level Pledging Event on Supporting the Humanitarian Response in Afghanistan 2022", hosted by the United Nations, the United Kingdom, Germany and Qatar, pledges of support are urgently needed to ramp up deliveries. Fund-raising has so far secured only 13 per cent of the requirements of the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan.
Years of conflict have caused prolonged suffering in Afghanistan. Now the country faces economic collapse and its worst drought in 30 years, creating unprecedented levels of need. Aid organizations warn that while emergency response is necessary, it is not enough to meet the totality of needs in Afghanistan. The economy, basic institutions of the state and essential service delivery must be preserved to stave off worsening food insecurity and a breakdown in the social fabric.
More than 24 million people – or 60 per cent of the population - need humanitarian assistance to survive. Needs are 30 per cent higher than last year and acute hunger is a daily reality for half the population. Basic health, education and other services are severely strained, livelihoods have been crushed and households are spending 80 per cent of their meagre income on food.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said: “We have the power to stop the downward humanitarian spiral in Afghanistan and it is our moral duty to use this power by pledging generous, flexible and unconditional funding today. That is how humanitarians can scale up operations now and save lives.”
In the first eight weeks of 2022, humanitarian partners reached 12.7 million people with life-saving assistance, prioritizingo women, girls and minority groups. Deliveries have included nutritious food for hundreds of thousands of malnourished children, pregnant and breastfeeding women; nutritious meals for school-children; getting seeds and tools into the hands of farmers; training unemployed workers in basic skills; supporting protection for vulnerable groups; ensuring clean water supply in communities; and supporting trauma treatment and reproductive healthcare.
-ends-
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , ILO , UNCTAD , WHO , FAO , ICRC
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, Human Rights Council, United Nations Trade and Development and International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
2
1
4
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a glaring disregard for long-established international humanitarian law are set to leave a staggering 305 million people in need of lifesaving assistance next year, the UN’s top aid official warned on Wednesday.
Embargo Wednesday, 4 December 2024 at 0600 CET / 0000 ET
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNRISD , UNHCR , IFRC , OHCHR , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by representatives and spokespersons for the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | FAO , ITU , OHCHR , WHO , UNHCR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the Deputy Secretary-General for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), representatives and spokespersons for the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | ITU
An estimated 5.5 billion people have access to the internet in 2024, an increase of 227 million people based on revised estimates for 2023, the UN specialized agency for telecommunications, ITU, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | FAO
Media launch of the FAO State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2024 "Trade and Nutrition: Policy Coherence for Healthy Diets"
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Launch of World AIDS Day Report 2024—Take The Rights Path
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE , ITU , OHCHR , WHO , IFRC , WFP
Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, International Telecommunication Union, World Health Organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Food Programme.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , WHO , UNHCR , IFRC , ILO , UNCTAD
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of the Red Cross, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Trade and Development.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ITU , OSE , UNIFIL , UNICEF , OHCHR , WHO , FAO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the International Telecommunication Union.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, confirmed on Monday that a large convoy of humanitarian aid was looted inside Gaza at the weekend, amid a near-total a breakdown in law and order and harassment of the agency’s staff by Israeli soldiers.