KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, has warned that cuts to international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan could be a “death sentence for millions.”
During his “Harrowing” visit to Kandahar’s main hospital on Tuesday, Fletcher highlighted the severe challenges facing medical staff, who are forced to make difficult decisions daily about which lives to save.
He noted that the effects of aid cuts are evident in the region, where hospitals are overwhelmed with patients—sometimes three or four in one bed—and newborns are not receiving the care they urgently need.
“We often talk about funding cuts in general terms, in terms of numbers and statistics,” the UN official said. “But I challenge anyone making these decisions to come and visit a hospital like this one in Kandahar, where in the region around us we had to cut in the last few months, 400 medical centers, denying primary health care to over 3 million people.”
“Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about. For millions, it is a death sentence,” he added.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) echoed Fletcher’s concerns, revealing that mortality rates in Kandahar are higher than the national average. UNICEF pledged to continue providing essential medical supplies, medicines, and training for healthcare workers in the region.
“UN Relief Chief is right: Funding cuts mean these newborns and more could lose their lives,” said UNICEF Afghanistan.
The UN estimates that nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan, most of them women and children, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that 3.5 million children could suffer from malnutrition this year, equating to one child every ten seconds.
International aid to Afghanistan has dropped sharply, particularly following the suspension of US assistance, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation. Earlier, the WFP issued similar warnings, highlighting that aid cuts, especially those from the US, threaten the lives of millions facing hunger and starvation.
