Islamabad: Afghanistan’s economy is now in free fall, and if the international community doesn’t act decisively and with compassion, this fall will pull the entire population with it, United Nations (UN) Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has said.
The statement was made during the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday.
"Twenty-three million people are already facing hunger; health facilities are overflowing with malnourished children; some 70 percent of teachers are not getting paid and millions of children – Afghanistan’s future – are out of school," he said.
"The value of the Afghani currency is plummeting, trade is wrecked by lack of confidence in the financial sector, and the space for borrowing and investment has constricted dramatically," he added.
He said that the need for liquidity and stabilisation of the banking system is now urgent – not only to save the lives of the Afghan people but also to enable humanitarian organizations to respond.
He welcomed the decision by the World Bank's Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to transfer US$280 million by the end of December to UNICEF and the World Food Programme.
"The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is coming together today to express willingness to help avert disaster and contribute to the humanitarian endeavour. The United Nations stands firmly with you, and in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan," he stated.
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