The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Afghanistan - Humanitarian Needs - UNHCR
Amidst a growing humanitarian crisis where hundreds of thousands of Afghan people are displaced and with winter quickly approaching, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday warned of “a race against time” to reach each and every individual with life-saving aid and preposition supplies ahead of winter.
Speaking via a videoconference from Kabul to a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, UNCHR’s spokesperson Babar Baloch said that “we need to scale up to kind of win this race against time. If you are not able to reach many people, the consequences can really be dire”.
According to UNHCR, half of the population, nearly 20 million Afghans, rely on humanitarian assistance and those needs are rising day by day.
During last week, UNHCR assisted some 40,000 displaced Afghans with solar panels, blankets, and warm clothes for the most vulnerable ones. “It’s a race against time for us to reach each and every individual and let's not forget: I mean, Afghanistan is among one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies in the world with millions of people requiring relief including more than 3.5 million people forced to leave their homes because of insecurity,” Baloch said.
Before the Taliban takeover in August, Afghanistan’s fragile economy had been kept afloat by foreign aid for the past 20 years. Currently, the country’s assets are frozen and development aid paused. “Afghanistan needs an injection of cash in that sense on the basis of humanitarian consideration that what is happening inside the country,” stated UNHCR’s Baloch. “It is at a breaking point in terms of services and its economy, and that collapse has to be avoided at all costs.”
UNHCR is establishing a dedicated logistics hub for Afghanistan. The first of three flights is scheduled to arrive by the end of this week to bring in much-needed supplies from Uzbekistan which will then be trucked into Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan’s fourth biggest city.
The UN Refugee agency plans to reach this week an additional 60,000 people among the more than half a million displaced people. As temperature dip to near-freezing at night and with winter fast approaching, time is of the essence.
“The window is actually closing by every day in terms of the time we have to reach more and more (people),” Baloch said. “Let's not forget, winter in Afghanistan is harsh. Winter in Afghanistan can kill. If people do not have the resources and if you end up being under the open skies, it is really merciless.”
UNHCR continues to appeal to have unimpeded humanitarian access all around the country and to all the people in need. In terms of collaboration with the authorities on the ground, the agency’s Baloch said that “we rely on them for our security, there are encouraging signs in that sense, and they have been kind of highlighting to us the needs of the people on the ground as we go and do more assessments and bring in more supplies.”
G20 leaders and ministers will meet today by videoconference to discuss a UN proposal to channel funds to Afghanistan to ease its worsening humanitarian catastrophe. It will be the first meeting of the world’s richest countries to discuss the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover on 15 August.
-ends –
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Medium shot, inside the press conference room, showing the speakers and Mr. Baloch on large-screen TV in the foreground.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s spokesperson, Babar Baloch: “We need to scale up to kind of win this race against time. If you are not able to reach many people, the consequences can really be dire.”
- Medium shot, TV Cameraman masked, attending the press conference.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s spokesperson, Babar Baloch: “It’s a race against time for us to reach each and every individual and let's not forget: I mean, Afghanistan is among one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies in the world with millions of people requiring relief including more than 3.5 million people forced to leave their homes because of insecurity.”
- Medium shot, journalists seated and masked taking notes.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s spokesperson, Babar Baloch: “Afghanistan needs an injection of cash in that sense on the basis of humanitarian consideration that what is happening inside the country. It is at a breaking point in terms of services and its economy, and that collapse has to be avoided at all costs.”
- Medium shot, two journalists masked watching the press conference on their laptops, large-screen TV showing Mrs. Vellucci to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s spokesperson, Babar Baloch: “The window is actually closing by every day in terms of the time we have to reach more and more (people). Let's not forget, winter in Afghanistan is harsh. Winter in Afghanistan can kill. If people do not have the resources and if you end up being under the open skies, it is really merciless.”
- Medium shot, audience in the press conference room taking notes.
- SOUNDBITE (English): UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s spokesperson, Babar Baloch: “We rely on them for our security, there are encouraging signs in that sense, and they have been kind of highlighting to us the needs of the people on the ground as we go and do more assessments and bring in more supplies.”
- Close shot, journalists masked taking notes.
- Close shot of the hand of one of the journalists.
- Medium shot, journalists attending the meeting, press briefing broadcast on Zoom in the foreground.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
2
1
2
Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Iran-Israel war: UN rights office concerned over strike on Tehran prison, reported espionage arrests
Tehran’s notorious Evin prison known for holding dissidents should not be a target, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday, a day after a reported Israeli strike on the complex.