Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Kabul (BNA) To help the most vulnerable families including those recently returning from Pakistan and Iran, aid agencies in Afghanistan need $430 million this year, the announcement made during an official ceremony of launching the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan in Kabul here yesterday.
The money will be used to assist 2.8 million people displaced by conflict or natural disasters with emergency shelter and food.
Addressing the event, Dr. Abdullah the international community has proven its continued commitment to the people of Afghanistan with generous humanitarian funding of $317 million in 2017.
“The Humanitarian Response Plan launched today will serve to provide timely, life-saving assistance to families in emergency shelters or in need of urgent support across the country,” he said.
The Chief Executive asked people and the security forces to spare no effort in assisting the UN staffs while deliver aids to vulnerable people.
“In many parts of Afghanistan, violence continues unabated and people need support more than ever,” said Toby Lanzer, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, adding the response plan puts forward activities of more than 150 humanitarian partners – national and international humanitarian NGOs and the United Nations – delivering assistance to families and communities in need wherever they can be reached, despite difficult conditions including increasing attacks on aid workers.
“Today I call on international donors to stand by 2.8 million people whose lives have been ruined by conflict or natural disaster, and to help people returning to Afghanistan from neighboring countries,” he added, while asking insurgents to allow aids to reach the poor people.
More than two million people were directly affected by the conflict last year, 448,000 of whom had to abandon their homes to save their lives.More than 500,000 people arrived in Afghanistan in 2017, many of them after seeking refuge in Iran, Pakistan or other countries.
But this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan focuses only on providing life-saving emergency assistance to people caught up in current or very recent disasters.
Meanwhile in parts of his speech, Dr. Abdullah said the UN Security Council members visit to Kabul have met with representatives of people in Kabul and the UNSC has prepared to respond to the expectations of the Afghan government.
”The UN Security Council delegation met with civil society activists and women’s representatives,” Dr. Abdullah said, adding the UNSC delegation also talked on timely election, regional-level cooperation for the Afghan peace and support to the reconciliation process as well as counter-terrorism.
Dr. Abdullah said that at the meeting, the Afghan government expressed its concerns over the safe havens of the terrorists outside Afghanistan. “We raised the issue of terrorists’ safe havens with the UN Security Council delegation,” he said.
