RASC News Agency: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced that it has provided assistance to 15.3 million people in Afghanistan over the past nine months. In a statement released on Tuesday, December 10, OCHA noted that 2.8 million individuals had received at least three types of aid across various sectors. According to OCHA, 23.7 million people in Afghanistan are currently in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, with over 17 million of them identified as the primary target for the organization’s relief efforts. However, OCHA emphasized that despite a funding requirement of $3.6 billion to meet the needs of the Afghanistani population, it has only received $958 million thus far.
This follows a prior warning from the World Food Programme (WFP), which indicated that more than 14 million people in Afghanistan will require immediate assistance as the upcoming winter approaches. Meanwhile, more than three years after the Taliban’s return to power, the Afghanistani population continues to face worsening poverty. The Taliban’s reassertion of control has led to massive unemployment, with millions of citizens losing their livelihoods. Thousands of civil servants from the previous government have been dismissed, and numerous institutions, especially international organizations, have been disbanded. The economic policies of the Taliban have further strained the population, perpetuating widespread poverty and unemployment throughout the country.
Despite these mounting challenges, the international community, led by the United States, has provided billions of dollars in aid to the Taliban-led government over the past three years. However, reports indicate that these funds have been misappropriated, with little to no transparency regarding their use or distribution.
