Afghanistan: 18th package of humanitarian assistance worth $32 million arrives in Kabul

Afghanistan’s Central Bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, on Saturday, March 12, announced that humanitarian aid worth $32 million have arrived in Kabul. Taking to Twitter, the Afghan Central Bank informed that this is the 18th package of humanitarian assistance that has arrived in the nation. It thanked the donor countries for their assistance in facilitating banking relations.

“Following the series of humanitarian aid, another $32 million cash of humanitarian aid has arrived in Afghanistan today,” Afghanistan's Central Bank tweeted saying on Saturday. 

It is to mention that last month, the United Nations had stated that more than 24 million people in Afghanistan require lifesaving assistance, which is a staggering 30% increase since 2021. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric informed that a group of eight senior emergency experts from UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations called for life-saving humanitarian action in Afghanistan.

"The emergency experts said they witnessed an enormity of human suffering in Afghanistan, but that they also saw humanitarian organizations able to scale up operations despite massive operational constraints, including the ongoing banking and liquidity crisis," Stephane Dujarric said. 

Afghan economy heading towards ‘irreversibility’ 

Separately, earlier this month, the UN special envoy for Afghanistan stated that the international community hasn’t done enough to revive the country's economy as it heads toward “a point of irreversibility”. The UN envoy, Deborah Lyons, told the UN Security Council that Afghanistan is nearing “a tipping point that will see more businesses close, more people unemployed and falling into poverty”. Lyons also informed that the United Nations political mission she heads “has taken all conceivable measures to inject liquidity into the economy," including physically importing cash.

It is to mention that Afghanistan's long-troubled economy has been in a tailspin since the Taliban takeover as US and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years. A key factor in the Afghan financial crisis is the refusal of the United States and its allies to recognise the Taliban. Desperation for basic necessities has also been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and health care shortages, drought and malnutrition.

(Image: Twitter/AP)