IRC says Afghanistan is in desperate need of humanitarian aid

Some £7.5 billion in Afghan government assets currently remain frozen abroad

Afghans carrying packages distributed by a Turkish humanitarian aid group, leave a distribution centre in Kabul (REUTERS)

Fragmentation of global politics, foreign interference in civil wars and erosion of civil rights has led to a systems failure in tackling humanitarian crisis, a leading international aid agency has warned.

Afghanistan heads the list of stricken countries facing a perilous future in the annual Emergency Watchlist published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) with more than 22 million people – over half the population – in desperate need of aid and eight million facing starvation.

The IRC report came as the Disasters Emergency Committee of aid organisations launched an appeal to raise funds for Afghanistan. Donations from the public will be matched by the Government up to a total of £10 million.

Women and children are bearing the brunt of the suffering in Afghanistan. The country now ranks last out of 170 countries in the index of women’s rights. The Taliban, after seizing power, have banned women from working in the vast majority of jobs and secondary education has ended for girls.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced a commitment to support women and girls in conflict zones.

The IRC welcomed the move, but added: “If she is serious about the UK leading the way in addressing the risks facing women and girls in fragile settings, she must use every tool at her disposal to support Afghanistan, through increasing aid and diplomatic pressure.”

Although some aid for Afghanistan is being freed by governments and organisations, around $10 billion (£7.5 billion) in Afghan government assets remain frozen abroad. Unfreezing them, say international powers, would confer de-facto legitimacy on the Taliban regime.

There are also concerns about depending on the Islamist administration to distribute aid. The country’s new Prime Minister, Mohammed Hassan Akhund, said recently that the impending famine “is a test from God, after people rebelled against him”.

David Miliband, president and CEO of IRC, held that what is happening in Afghanistan is just one example of a broader crisis which has affected other countries such Ethiopia and Yemen, second and third on the Watchlist.

“Each day the international community perpetuates System Failure, the world’s most vulnerable are first to pay the price. Humanitarian emergencies will only get worse if the political emergencies underlying them are not addressed; if the killing is not stopped. That is the true message of this year’s Emergency Watchlist, which needs urgent international attention in taking forward,” he said.

“ ... We are seeing operational failure to not just the fact that UN appeals are less than half-funded, but increasingly the way aid is delivered is being blocked... What we are seeing is the strangulation of aid flow.”