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UNHCR/OCHA/UNICEF Virtual Press Conference - Presentation of the Regional Refugee Preparedness and Response Plan for Afghanistan - 27 August 2021
Around 500,000 new Afghan refugees are expected in the region by the end of the year, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said on Friday, at the presentation of the Regional Preparedness and Emergency Plan for Afghan Refugees. Appealing to all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to keep their borders open to those seeking to escape the intensifying crisis, the agency envisaged this number as “a worst-case scenario”. Based on an analysis of ongoing social, economic, political and the security situation, “the purpose of the figures is to enable us to plan and preposition important assistance so that urgent interventions can be scaled up quickly, efficiently as possible and if needed” Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner, UNHCR said.
The plan is seeking a total of $299 million dollars to support the activities of UN agencies this year, including the UNHCR, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as NGOs, with which the United Nations works. “This is about contingency planning. It is not the actual response,” said Ms Clements. “Increased and immediate funding will allow us to preposition core relief items and be ready for emergency interventions”. The UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner emphasized that significant movements across borders are not yet taking place and that the greatest needs remain inside the country, where the impacts of the conflict have been compounded by a severe drought and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know that growing insecurity and violence this year alone has displaced more than half a million Afghans, 80 per cent of whom are women and children,” Ms Clements said. Najeeba Wazedafost, CEO Asia Pacific Refugee Network described the situation over the past week in Afghanistan as “heartbreaking”. APNOR has received “a vast amount of calls to our Afghan crisis helpline where people have been reporting executions, beatings and clampdown on media and radio stations' '. She added that the Taliban have been carrying out “door to door searches, targeted killings and looting in the capital,” as well as attacking thousands of schools, hospitals and homes.
“All roads leading to and going out of the cities are being closed by the Taliban,” and “hospitals have nearly reached full capacity,” she said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added their voice to the call for funding. “At the beginning of this year, we estimated that around 18 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance,” Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, Director, Coordination Division, UN OCHA: said, describing it as a “staggering number”. She warned that “a lot has happened and we expect that these needs have actually increased, compounded by conflict, compounded by drought and by Covid-19”. Ms Abdelatef said “flexible funding” needs to be scaled up urgently “ because the level of supplies are being stretched and because winter is coming”.
TRT: 02:33”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 27 August 2021, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1.Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner, UNHCR:
“ We are preparing for around 500 thousand new refugees in the region, this is a worst case scenario. Our planning figures are based on an analysis of ongoing social, economic, political and the security situation. The purpose of the figures is to enable us to plan and preposition important assistance so that urgent interventions can be scaled up quickly, efficiently as possible and if needed”.
3.Exterior mid shot, United Nations flag flying
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner, UNHCR: “ Increased and immediate funding will allow us to preposition core relief items and be ready for emergency interventions.
5.Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, Director, Coordination Division, UN OCHA: “Starting by the humanitarian situation at the beginning of this year, we estimated that around 18 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. This is almost half the population and it is a staggering number. And this was at the beginning of the year. So as we speak now, a lot has happened and we expect that these needs have actually increased. And this humanitarian needs are coming from decades of conflict, compounded by drought and by covid-19”.
7.Exterior mid shot, United Nations flag flying
8.SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, Director, Coordination Division, UN OCHA: ”We remain short of 800 million dollars. This is needed urgently because the level of supply now are being stretched, because also we are coming to winter and we need there is also not only the scale of the funding, but the urgency of the funding and we need these funds to be flexible”.
9.Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Najeeba Wazedafost, CEO Asia Pacific Refugee Network:”For us in APNOR, it has been quite heartbreaking, especially in the past week, receiving a vast amount of calls to our Afghan crisis helpline where people have been reporting executions and beatings and clampdown on medias and radio stations. They've been reporting to us about Taliban's, you know, door to door searches, targeted killings and looting in the capital. And again, we've been hearing about schools and hospitals and thousands of homes being attacked. All roads leading to and going out of the cities are being closed by the Taliban. Hospitals, as we already heard, have nearly reached full capacity and really can no longer accept patients”.
11.Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner, UNHCR: “So it's really prepositioning and what I want to underscore about this particular plan. This is about planning and contingency planning. It is not the actual response”.
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
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Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
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