Two years ago today, international troops and diplomats hastily withdrew from Kabul and Taliban rule returned to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan was already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, after decades of conflict and with the intensifying impact of climate change. Since then, the significant deterioration of the country’s economy has turned that crisis into a catastrophe.
Nearly 29 million Afghans are now in need of lifesaving assistance and more than 15 million face acute hunger. The effects of this fall disproportionately on women and girls, with UN experts estimating that 20 years of progress asfor women and girls’ rights has been erased since the Taliban takeover.
In the context of diplomatic isolation, organisations like ours have been left as the only link between most ordinary Afghans and the international community. Millions in Afghanistan have received lifesaving assistance from our organisations and partnerships in 2023 alone.
We have been able to do this because of the resources made available by governments and our supporters all over the world. Yet we are gravely concerned that a second withdrawal from Afghanistan is under way: a withdrawal of the resources available to relieve this desperate situation. The UN humanitarian response plan quantifies the need for lifesaving assistance in the country at $3.23bn; at the start of August, less than 25% of this has been raised.
It is as if violations of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan have prompted international governments to make things worse by reducing the very support that disproportionately benefits Afghan women and girls.
Of course, international assistance is never an end in itself. Economic recovery is what Afghans need, and more must be done to stabilise the economy. But unless urgent assistance for Afghans is forthcoming, those at greatest risk will continue to pay the price – and August 2024 will be yet another grim milestone for Afghanistan.
Stephen Lockley
Acting president and CEO, World Vision International
Gwen Hines
CEO, Save the Children UK
Osai Ojigho
Director of policy and public campaigns, Christian Aid
Laura Kyrke-Smith
Executive director, International Rescue Committee UK
Jean Michel Grand
Executive director, Action Against Hunger UK
Charles Davy
Managing director, Afghanaid
Manuel Patrouillard
Director general, Humanity and Inclusion International
Martin Hartberg
Director, Norwegian Refugee Council UK
John Good
Interim chief executive, ActionAid UK
