The United nations The world urged Thursday to stand behind Afghanistan at an international conference seeking to raise $4.4 billion in humanitarian aid for the stricken country. The donor conference comes a week after the Taliban closed women’s secondary schools to the chagrin of the world, despite promising to introduce a moderate version of its previous harsh regime from 1996 to 2001.
The Taliban took power Afghanistan On August 15, following the rapid withdrawal of international forces led by the United States, the humanitarian crisis in the country has since worsened.
The United Nations, the United Kingdom, Germany and Qatar, co-hosts of the virtual conference, condemned the closure of girls’ schools but insisted that the international community must not abandon the Afghan people, as 60% of the population needs help to survive.
They also asked donors not to fall into the trap of forgetting the crisis in Afghanistan because of their interest in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Ukraine is of vital importance, but Afghanistan appeals to our souls for commitment and loyalty,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths told reporters, speaking from Kabul.
The United nations It seeks to triple the required amount in 2021, but has so far only received 13% of the required amount.
The organization stated that Afghanistan On the verge of economic collapse, more than 24 million people need humanitarian assistance.
“We need to avoid the worst in Afghanistan, so we’re calling on donors to be generous,” Griffiths said.
The British diplomat noted that basic services such as health and education are “on their knees”, while millions of people are not getting work and many are borrowing to survive.
“And as if things couldn’t get any worse,” he added, the country is experiencing its worst drought in decades.
Griffiths said he hoped “measures such as closing girls’ high schools will be rescinded in the near future” and that “this does not mean that offers will be limited.”
In this regard, the spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majid Al-Ansari, said that the Taliban should hear from the Islamic world that “the teachings of Islam do not marginalize women.”
“We understand how sensitive it is to make offers to Afghanistan in this environment, but we also insist on the importance of not isolating Afghanistan. This legitimizes extremist positions,” Ansari told reporters.
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