RASC News Agency: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued an urgent warning that Afghanistan’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, with growing concerns from the international community. In a recent comprehensive analysis, OCHA reviewed Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis spanning from August 2021 through October 2024, concluding that despite receiving approximately $6.7 billion in international aid since the Taliban took power, the nation’s humanitarian and economic crises remain as severe as ever.
OCHA points to the Taliban’s tightening restrictions on the basic rights of women and girls as a significant factor exacerbating the crisis over the last three years. The report reveals that Afghanistan received nearly $3.3 billion in humanitarian aid in 2022 alone, highlighting the scale of international support despite persistent instability. The analysis further outlines the sharp economic decline caused by severe disruptions in the banking sector, a sudden halt in bilateral development assistance, and worsening food insecurity, poverty, and drought all of which have compounded the humanitarian crisis. Since 2021, OCHA reports that 71 of 392 Taliban-imposed directives directly targeting women have impeded their participation in critical humanitarian efforts, creating substantial barriers to effective aid delivery.
OCHA warns that these Taliban policies have placed considerable constraints on humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. The report underscores that without sustained donor funding, maintaining current levels of UN-led humanitarian aid in Afghanistan may soon become impossible, intensifying the threat of a nationwide humanitarian collapse.
