OCHA Says Funding Shortfall Puts Afghanistan Aid Efforts at Risk
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that despite aid reaching 7.4 million Afghans in the first five months of this year, a severe funding shortfall has put the ability of relief agencies to continue life-saving assistance in Afghanistan at risk.
In a report published on Sunday, 25 Asad, OCHA said that by June only 17% of the funding needed for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan had been secured. According to the report, of the $1.7 billion required to meet humanitarian needs this year, $1.4 billion, or 83%, remained unfunded.
The UN agency said that from the start of the year until the end of June, at least 4.6 million people in need had received food assistance. OCHA also warned that acute food insecurity in Afghanistan is spreading.
The report said that $465 million was needed this year to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs, of which 63% has so far been provided by donors. OCHA said relief agencies have adopted integrated and cost-saving approaches to continue assistance because of the funding shortage.
OCHA added that alongside rising humanitarian needs, the complexity of the operational environment has also made aid delivery more difficult. The agency stressed that the continuation of relief operations depends on sufficient and flexible funding, robust financial systems, as well as the security of aid workers and suitable conditions for aid delivery.
OCHA is the United Nations humanitarian coordination office that monitors urgent needs and coordinates the response of relief agencies in crisis-affected countries.
