KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced Switzerland’s additional contribution of $1.7 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) for 2024.
In a statement released on Tuesday, March 12, OCHA expressed gratitude to Switzerland for its latest contribution, highlighting the country’s consistent support as a multi-year donor to AHF.
OCHA says Switzerland has given over $19.7 million since 2016.
The UN agency has not disclosed specifics regarding the allocation and expenditure of the new funding, including the regions and sectors it will support.
Switzerland’s recent donation to aid the people of Afghanistan arrives at a critical time when millions are in dire need of assistance, grappling with the challenges of surviving the harsh winter.
The UN aid agency previously reported that over 23 million people in Afghanistan, nearly two-thirds of its population, require humanitarian aid this year, with women accounting for 25% of this number.
The forced deportation of thousands of refugees from neighboring Pakistan and Iran during the winter has escalated an already dire humanitarian crisis in the country. Upon returning to their homeland, thousands of Afghan refugees face shortage of housing, food, and healthcare.
Moreover, other natural hazards like flooding and earthquakes exacerbated the already limited coping capacity of the population, leading to the continued presence of severe food insecurity in the country.
Earlier, WFP reported that approximately 16 million people in Afghanistan are uncertain about their next meal, while 4 million children, along with breastfeeding and pregnant women, suffer from malnutrition.
Humanitarian agencies have been struggling with a significant funding shortfall for the past two years, as global attention remains primarily focused on the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The UN says that this funding shortfall is one of the worst in recent years, significantly hindering the organization’s capacity to deliver aid to the most vulnerable individuals.
Last year, WFP reported that around 10 million people in Afghanistan lost access to vital food assistance between May and November 2023 due to shortage of resources.
