Afghan: Famine averted, but economy towards irrecoverable fall

New York: Though various agencies have delivered humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and averted famine, the country's economic collapse is inching to the point from where there is no comeback, Reuters reported citing United Nations envoy to Kabul.

UN Special Representative Deborah Lyons told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the need of the hour for Afghanistan is to find solutions for the root causes of its economic crisis. She said that cooperation with the Taliban is required on all issues in the country. It is not possible assisting the Afghan people without working with the country's de facto authorities. She urged the UN Security Council to approve a fresh mandate for her mission.

Lyons said that UN agencies, along with their partners, have aided around 20 million Afghans. As the winter is inching to end, the worst famine conditions seem averted, she said.

But there is an urgent need to address the cash crisis, restrictions on international aides and the central bank. Six months without any decisions, unstructured political engagement etc., are causing the seepage of critical social and economic coping systems, putting the population into further uncertainty, Lyons said. Through the humanitarian aids, what they have done so far is just buying a little more time, she added.

Even after six months of taking Kabul, the Taliban has not yet received the recognition of the international community as the ruler of Afghanistan. While donors cut financial assistance of more than 70 per cent of government expenditures while nine billion US dollars of Afghan central bank assets got frozen. Also, many Taliban leaders are under US and UN sanctions.

The mentioned moves resulted in an economic collapse, surge in a cash shortage, unemployment and hunger. The UN has flagged that more than half of the country's 39 million people perish in hunger.