Geneva: only a third of the funds demanded urgently Afghanistan From United Nations disbursed, the UN refugee chief said on Friday, warning of a possible humanitarian disaster.
Filippo Grandi Urging donor nations to swiftly honor their financial promises, it said: “Can you please solemnly pledge support where it is urgently needed”.
“The pledges were made, so it’s a matter of delivering them because we need those resources quickly,” Grandi, who visited Afghanistan after the August 15 takeover by the Taliban, told a news conference.
Noting that winter – which is harsh in the mountainous and predominantly rural country – is drawing near, he spoke of a “race against time to meet human needs”.
“The slowdown in services – the banking system, the economy – risks creating a really huge humanitarian crisis,” he said.
On 17 September, just a month after the fall of Kabul, a ministerial conference was held in Geneva under the chairmanship of the UN Secretary-General. Antonio Guterres See donor countries pledge $1.2 billion in Help.
But it was unclear how much of this amount was going to the $606 million specifically requested by the United Nations to finance humanitarian aid for 11 million Afghans by the end of 2021.
Grandi said only 35 percent of this amount has been disbursed so far. And only 18 percent of the 300 million requested by his organization, the UNHCR, were received.
He said UN agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Grundy also urged countries to continue development aid for a nation that, before the Taliban came to power, relied heavily on such aid.
“The Taliban is not a recognized government, so how to negotiate for development agencies will be more complicated than for humanitarian agencies, but I hope a solution will be found,” he said.
“Until this is found, I see a huge humanitarian crisis. I fear mass displacement, of course.”
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell meanwhile on Friday urged the bloc to take “between 10,000 and 20,000” Afghan refugees.
Borrell told a forum in Madrid that about 22,000 Afghans were in the European Union after being deported from their country.
The European Union said on Thursday that Grundy’s demand to take in 42,500 Afghan refugees over five years could be achieved – though any decision would lie with its member states.
Filippo Grandi Urging donor nations to swiftly honor their financial promises, it said: “Can you please solemnly pledge support where it is urgently needed”.
“The pledges were made, so it’s a matter of delivering them because we need those resources quickly,” Grandi, who visited Afghanistan after the August 15 takeover by the Taliban, told a news conference.
Noting that winter – which is harsh in the mountainous and predominantly rural country – is drawing near, he spoke of a “race against time to meet human needs”.
“The slowdown in services – the banking system, the economy – risks creating a really huge humanitarian crisis,” he said.
On 17 September, just a month after the fall of Kabul, a ministerial conference was held in Geneva under the chairmanship of the UN Secretary-General. Antonio Guterres See donor countries pledge $1.2 billion in Help.
But it was unclear how much of this amount was going to the $606 million specifically requested by the United Nations to finance humanitarian aid for 11 million Afghans by the end of 2021.
Grandi said only 35 percent of this amount has been disbursed so far. And only 18 percent of the 300 million requested by his organization, the UNHCR, were received.
He said UN agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Grundy also urged countries to continue development aid for a nation that, before the Taliban came to power, relied heavily on such aid.
“The Taliban is not a recognized government, so how to negotiate for development agencies will be more complicated than for humanitarian agencies, but I hope a solution will be found,” he said.
“Until this is found, I see a huge humanitarian crisis. I fear mass displacement, of course.”
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell meanwhile on Friday urged the bloc to take “between 10,000 and 20,000” Afghan refugees.
Borrell told a forum in Madrid that about 22,000 Afghans were in the European Union after being deported from their country.
The European Union said on Thursday that Grundy’s demand to take in 42,500 Afghan refugees over five years could be achieved – though any decision would lie with its member states.
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