$1 billion pledge a ‘quantum leap’ in commitment to Afghanistan: UN chief

“Today, we person already heard intelligibly much than $1 cardinal successful pledges…It represents a quantum leap successful narration to the fiscal committedness of the planetary assemblage towards the Afghan people,” said Mr. Guterres.

UN alleviation chief, Martin Griffiths, confirmed successful his closing remarks to the meeting, that much than $1.2 cardinal successful humanitarian and improvement assistance successful full had been promised, incorporating some Monday’s appeal, and the determination response.

A 'lifeline' for Afghans

“The backing volition propulsion a lifeline to Afghans who deficiency those services, to the tiny children that Henrietta Fore of UNICEF spoke of, who look the hazard of acute malnutrition, to the galore women and girls who could suffer their entree to reproductive wellness services, and overmuch more”, said the Emergency Relief Coordinator, and caput of OCHA.  

In an brushwood with journalists connected the sidelines of the high-level ministerial meeting, the Secretary-General noted that the information that astir 100 Member States had taken portion - successful summation to much than 30 determination and planetary organisations – underscored that the situation successful Afghanistan remained a important contented for the planetary community.

Entry constituent for engagement

The UN main reiterated the value of ensuring that assistance did not travel astatine the disbursal of hard-won gains for women and minorities successful Afghanistan implicit the past 20 years.

“We are of people precise overmuch acrophobic successful making definite that humanitarian assistance is an introduction constituent for effectual engagement with the Taliban successful each different aspects of interest of the planetary community,” helium said, aft appealing for $606 cardinal to supply urgent assistance to 11 cardinal radical implicit the adjacent 4 months.

While contiguous concerns person focused connected the proviso of exigency assistance to avert a large humanitarian situation successful the country, Mr. Guterres warned that specified assistance “will not lick the occupation if the system of Afghanistan collapses. And we cognize that the hazard is enormous, and that determination is simply a melodramatic deficiency of cash.”

Taliban ‘attitude of support’

Pressed connected the quality of the written assurances that the Taliban delivered successful a missive to the UN this past play concerning assistance assistance, the Secretary-General explained that determination were successful information 2 documents.

“One was guaranteeing afloat humanitarian enactment of the UN and the respect by the Taliban to that afloat humanitarian work; and the second, that they are capable to supply information and adjacent escorts erstwhile determination are situations of insecurity that would warrant it,” helium said. “So not lone determination is an cognition of acceptance but determination is an cognition of support.”

He added that it was besides important to underline that the Taliban communiqué besides appealed for planetary enactment for development, to combat the cause commercialized and security.

“There is simply a wide involvement of the Taliban besides to prosecute with the planetary assemblage and I deliberation this is what gives besides the planetary assemblage immoderate leverage.”

UNHAS

The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) near Islamabad successful Pakistan to marque its archetypal formation to Kabul since the Taliban took implicit government.

‘Milestone’ assistance flight

Meanwhile, the archetypal UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) formation into Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, since the Taliban takeover a period ago, has been labelled a “milestone”, with much to follow.

UNHAS is managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), which reported that the formation took disconnected from Islamabad, Pakistan, connected Sunday and was a success.

WFP said the program is to person flights 5 days per week, from Sunday to Thursday, travelling from Islamabad into Afghanistan.  

The planes volition alert to Kabul, past connected to the cities of Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat, returning to Islamabad via the capital.

UNHAS resumed its flights to Afghanistan connected 29 August, linking Islamabad to Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Herat.  

WFP, which operated the flights connected behalf of the UN, said that adding Kabul “is a milestone.