UN seeks $600m in aid to Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): A United Nations-convened conference on aid to Afghanistan is set to take place in Geneva today (Monday).

The world body is appealing for more than $600 million for Afghanistan to prevent a looming humanitarian catastrophe in the country, according to Reuters.

About 18 million Afghans were reliant on foreign aid even before the Taliban seized control of the country last month. The number could rise due to drought and shortages of cash and food.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists: “At the present moment the UN is not even able to pay salaries to its own workers.”

Senior UN officials, including Guterres, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer and dozens of government representatives are attending the conference.

The UN World Food Program will use about a third of the $606 million funding being sought for the conflict-devastated country.

A recent WFP survey found that 93% of the Afghans were not consuming enough food, largely because of financial reasons.

Taliban leaders have reportedly assured the International Committee of the Red Cross that it could continue its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan

ICRC president Peter Maurer told the Le Matin Dimanche newspaper he had been “well received” during a three-day visit to Kabul.

Maurer, who met Taliban officials, including Health Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, said: he was impressed with the Taliban’s professionalism in the field of healthcare.

PAN Monitor/mud