UNICEF Afghanistan: A mother and her child in the Haji camp for internally displaced people in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
New York (UNA-OIC) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep concern at the deepening humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan and the threat of a total collapse in the country’s basic services.
The flights evacuating civilians from Afghanistan may have come to an end, but a deepening humanitarian crisis remains, Guterres said in a statement on Tuesday, as several senior UN officials restated their commitment to stay and deliver urgently needed supplies to the millions in the country who need humanitarian aid to survive.
“Now more than ever,” the UN chief said, “Afghan children, women and men need the support and solidarity of the international community.”
Afghanistan is coping with a severe drought, and its citizens will have to face harsh winter conditions, underlining the need for supplies to be urgently sent to the country, he noted.
Given this precarious outlook, Guterres called on all parties to facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access for life-saving and life-sustaining supplies, as well as for all humanitarian workers, pointedly noting that this meant both men and women working in the field.
