Amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF on Sunday (August 22) called for assistance to deliver critical health supplies to the crisis-stricken country. In a joint statement, WHO Regional Director for Eastern and Mediterranean Region, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, and UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, George Laryea-Adjei said that as the humanitarian needs in Afghanistan increase, the abilities to respond to those needs are rapidly declining.
The WHO and UNICEF called for immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other lifesaving supplies to millions of people in need of aid, including 3,00,000 people displaced in the last two months alone.
(Photo: Reuters)
"While the main focus over the past days has been major air operations for the evacuation of internationals and vulnerable Afghans, the massive humanitarian needs facing the majority of the population should not - and cannot – be neglected," the WHO and UNICEF said in a joint statement.
They stated that even prior to the events of the past weeks, Afghanistan represented the world's third-largest humanitarian operation, with over 18 million people requiring assistance.
(Photo: Reuters)
The UN agencies said that the 'conflict, displacement, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic' are all contributing to a complex and desperate situation in Afghanistan.
(Photo: Reuters)
The WHO and UNICEF said that the humanitarian agencies need to be supported and facilitated to meet the enormous and growing needs in Afghanistan, and make sure that no one dies unnecessarily due to lack of access to aid.
(Photo: Reuters)
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last week as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after a 20-year war. A NATO official said at least 20 people had died in the past seven days in and around the Kabul airport which has been hugely crowded since the Taliban's control.
(Photo: Reuters)