Afghanistan: UN agencies sound alarm over emergency aid supply logjam
23 August 2021
photo: © UNICEF/Monique Awad
UN humanitarian agencies are warning that they are unable to bring urgently needed emergency supplies into Afghanistan, and are calling for a “humanitarian airbridge” to be set up immediately, to allow the unimpeded delivery of medicines and other aid supplies to the country.
In a media interview on Monday, Richard Brennan, the WHO Regional Director, explained that the agency is unable to bring some 500 tonnes of medical supplies, scheduled to be delivered this week, into the country, because of restrictions at Kabul airport, which is struggling to cope with a massive evacuation effort
.Continue reading at news.un.org
Economic and humanitarian challenges loom in Afghanistan
Aug 27, 2021
As the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan, the Biden Administration froze the portion of the Afghan Central Bank’s assets held in U.S. banks. Will Weschler, director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combatting terrorism, joins “CBSN AM” to discuss how this could result in an economic and humanitarian crisis.
Continue reading at news.yahoo.com
David Miliband: UK must engage with Taliban to deal with humanitarian crisis
By Aubrey Allegretti
Aug 27, 2021
Britain must work with the Taliban to avoid the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan ending in social and economic meltdown, David Miliband has told the Guardian, as he called for the imminent evacuation of Nato troops not to be followed by a diplomatic abdication by the west.
UK and US forces are airlifting the final civilians before their respective militaries pull out by 31 August, with fears growing that further terror attacks could be launched as the window for desperate people seeking refugee status continues to shrink.
Miliband, who is president of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and a former Labour foreign secretary, said an “invisible crisis” was brewing for the more than 20 million Afghans who are dependent on humanitarian aid for survival, with Covid and a nationwide drought compounding the situation of those who do not manage to make it out of the country in the next four days.
Continue reading www.theguardian.com
