UK to Help £35m to Afghanistan as Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

The crisis in Afghanistan growing as a new report warns that almost half of the rural population – 10.6 million people – are likely to be affected by severe food insecurity.

Ariana News Agency- The UK government has announced £35m of new funding to help the growing crisis in Afghanistan as a new report warns that almost half of the rural population – 10.6 million people – are likely to be affected by severe food insecurity.

The report, by independent multi-agency body the IPC, highlighted the spread of conflict and the ongoing drought which has displaced over 250,000 people, impacting Afghan incomes and leading to widespread malnutrition among children. Coupled with high food prices, there is significant cause to believe that extensive suffering could lead the country deeper into a humanitarian crisis. In a country where 20 million people rely on farming, the drought has caused a 45% drop in agricultural output this year, according to the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture.

Announcing the initiative, the UK international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said “This deadly drought is already affecting millions of Afghans, many of whom have had to leave their homes and livelihoods in desperate search of basic necessities. UK aid will provide life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of Afghans, including food, clean water, and tents.”
Calling for an international response to avert the crisis Mordaunt said: “Other donors must do more if we are to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.”

She said that the initiative will provide tents and urgent relief items for up to 260,000 people, food or cash transfers to buy essential items for up to 602,660, with a monthly ration of special nutritious food to prevent malnutrition in young children, and access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation for those affected by drought.

DfID explained that funding for the initiative will consist of £25m from their crisis reserve fund in addition to £10m already provided this year, bringing UK expenditure on the humanitarian response in Afghanistan to £67m.

A separate report also highlights the ongoing US efforts to assist in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure.

“The Afghan government now controls or influences the lowest proportion of its own territory since they began monitoring this data in November 2015,” according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), which published details of an audit into US efforts to rebuild Afghanistan’s infrastructure.

The report points to a lack of planning, monitoring and evaluation by the US Department of Defense (US DoD) over four contracts worth $1.62bn (£1.26bn) awarded to DynCorp International to provide contract advisors at the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior (MoI). Two of the four contracts, valued at $421m, are due to expire this month.