Pars Today – The United Nations Special Representative in Afghanistan announced that more than 50% of Afghanistan’s population requires humanitarian aid.
“Roza Otunbayeva,” the UN Special Representative in Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), during a UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan stated: “In 2025, more than 50% of Afghanistan’s population, approximately 23 million people, will need humanitarian assistance.”
According to Pars Today, Otunbayeva added: “Afghans continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis caused by decades of war, deep poverty, climate shocks, rapid population growth, and increasing protection risks, particularly for women and girls.”
She emphasized: “The current reduction in aid funding is already having significant impacts on the Afghan people, and these impacts will continue.”
This UN official said: “Last month, over 200 health centers in Afghanistan were closed, affecting around 1.8 million people.”
Otunbayeva continued: “It is the responsibility of Afghanistan’s current interim authorities to determine whether they want Afghanistan to integrate into the international system, and if so, whether they are ready to take the necessary steps.”
The U.S. and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, under the pretext of fighting terrorism and establishing security and stability. After 20 years of occupation, on August 15, 2021, upon their withdrawal from the country, they left behind an Afghanistan plagued by terrorism, insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and other crises.
In May 2021, Brown University in the U.S. published a report on America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, stating that 241,000 Afghans had been killed in this conflict. However, this figure does not include deaths caused by disease, lack of access to food, water, infrastructure, or other indirect consequences of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Migration and displacement have also been among the legacies of the U.S. and its NATO allies for the Afghan people. Currently, more than 8 million Afghan migrants reside in neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan, as well as in other parts of the world. Afghanistan has the highest number of migrants globally. The total number of Afghan migrants registered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has reached 27 million.
Additionally, according to a report by Save the Children, 20 million Afghan children wake up every day fearing death or disability from explosive remnants of war. Of these, 3.8 million require humanitarian assistance, and 600,000 suffer from severe malnutrition.
Some statistics indicate that before the war, 62% of Afghans faced food insecurity, which rose to 92% as a result of the war. Meanwhile, prior to the start of the war, Afghanistan witnessed an 80% poverty rate, which climbed to 97% after 20 years of conflict.
MG
