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 | UNICEF , OCHA
Gaza: After Security Council vote humanitarians urge aid scale-up as winter rains hit families hard
Following the UN Security Council’s Monday endorsement of a US peace plan for Gaza, UN humanitarians urged prioritizing aid access under the scheme as severe rains and flooding deepened Palestinian suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the ongoing violence in the occupied WestBank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk made the following remarks on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
UN Human Rights Council holds special session on Sudan as mass atrocities reported in El Fasher
The UN Human Rights Council convened an emergency session on Friday on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, following reports of mass killings in the North Darfur capital. States passed a resolution that will mandate an investigation into likely mass atrocities during the capture of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October.
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.