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U.N. says Afghanistan humanitarian needs are "catastrophic"

27 August 2021 17:07 (UTC +04:00)

U.N. officials appealed for $800 million to fill a chronic funding gap for Afghanistan on Friday, with a senior aid official describing the situation as "catastrophic" with at least one third of people expected to be facing hunger, APA reports citing Reuters.

"Humanitarian needs are catastrophic, are at large-scale and are increasing," Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a virtual briefing. "These humanitarian needs are coming from decades of conflict, compounded by drought and COVID-19."

The U.N. has appealed for $1.3 billion to reach 16 million people in Afghanistan this year, but an $800 million gap remains.