UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Deputy Chairman: Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has intensified with aid cuts

Jumhuri Mudara: Following the suspension of foreign aid to Afghanistan, some UN officials say the situation has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Andrew Saberton, the executive deputy director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said during a recent visit to Afghanistan that the suspension of US aid has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The Executive Director of the  United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a press conference on Wednesday that the US $100 million aid to the organization has been cut while the deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan continues.

He said that with the suspension of US aid, about 6.3 million people, mostly women, will be deprived of receiving life-saving care from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Afghanistan.

According to the UN official, migrants who are deported from neighboring countries may face serious threats inside Afghanistan.

Aid organizations have said that with the mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan, the level of people's needs for humanitarian assistance has increased.

The UN official also stressed that depriving girls of education has also led to an increase in forced and early marriages.

Suberton said that most of the victims of the cuts are women and girls who need health services, but the cuts put them in a very difficult situation.

 Earlier, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also warned of the humanitarian crisis and the destructive effects of cutting off aid in Afghanistan.