Status: 08/27/2021 4:26 p.m.
More than two million Afghans have already fled to neighboring countries – according to the United Nations, many more could follow. That is why the UN is now calling for financial support to the neighboring countries.
The United Nations (UN) is preparing to flee hundreds of thousands more refugees from Afghanistan. In the worst case scenario, 515,000 people could leave the country this year, reported the UN refugee agency UNHCR. How the situation will actually develop cannot yet be foreseen. The Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Kelly Clements, emphasized that no large groups of refugees had yet arrived at the border crossings to Iran and Pakistan.
Neighboring countries have already taken in 2.2 million Afghans. 90 percent of them are in Iran and Pakistan, others in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since the beginning of the year, more than 558,000 people have fled from terror and violence within the country in the Hindu Kush.
Aid organizations need an additional 254 million euros
The United Nations called on the world community to provide financial support to Afghanistan’s neighbors. According to the information, a total of eleven UN and aid organizations will need an additional 254 million euros to prepare for further Afghan refugees in the region by the end of the year. This will be used to procure tents, hygiene articles and food.
If the worst case scenario becomes a reality, the sum will have to be increased significantly, said Clements. The UNHCR is hoping for money from governments, businesses and private donations. According to the UNHCR, the existing programs to support the Afghan refugees who have been housed in Iran and Pakistan for years have so far been financed to less than 50 percent.
There is also a lack of funds for humanitarian aid within Afghanistan. The humanitarian organizations had asked for $ 1.3 billion in December 2020. But by this week only 39 percent of them had come together.
Christian Katzer, Managing Director of Doctors Without Borders, on the situation of the aid organizations in Afghanistan
tagesschau24 12:00 p.m., August 27, 2021
Medical material is only enough for a few days
In addition, according to the UN, the medical material for supplying the population is becoming scarce. The supply of drugs and medical equipment is only enough for a few days, said Rick Brennan, the regional emergency director of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Deliveries through the airport in the capital Kabul are not possible, said Brennan. The chaos and violence did not allow that. The WHO is now trying to handle transports via the airport in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of the country. Insurance costs for flights to Afghanistan have skyrocketed. Once that has been clarified, the transports can hopefully begin after two or three days.
Brennan emphasized that 97 percent of all hospitals in Afghanistan could still be operated. The WHO and the UN would continue to stand by the suffering people, he assured him.
More than 18 million Afghans are dependent on emergency aid
The radical Islamic Taliban took power in the country almost two weeks ago. After the terrorist attacks with numerous deaths at the airport in Kabul, the situation in Afghanistan is even more tense than in the days before.
According to the UN, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is one of the worst in the world. The violence, a prolonged drought and the consequences of the corona pandemic are having a devastating impact on people. More than 18 million Afghans are dependent on emergency aid, and around one million children are in danger of starving in the near future.