A senior United Nations official on Wednesday called on the international community not to forget the situation in Afghanistan amid a global focus on the war in Ukraine.
“While the world’s attention is turned to Ukraine and the ripple effect from that war, we must also stand in solidarity with the Afghan people,” Achim Steiner, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) head said during a two-day visit to Afghanistan.
Steiner draws attention to Thursday’s donor conference for Afghanistan.
The conference is hosted by Qatar, Britain and Germany, the UN is to appeal for eight billion U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid.
Steiner warned that the lives and livelihoods of millions of Afghans are under threat.
The Taliban regained power last year amid the chaotic withdrawal of the international forces.
He said Afghanistan was facing possible economic collapse, a frozen banking system and liquidity shortages, with as many as 80 per cent of the population in debt.
UN estimates that more than 24 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
