UN to Suspend Aid to Afghanistan Soon

The Country Director of the World Food Programme in Afghanistan, Hsiao-Wai Lee, announced today, Friday, that food aid directed to the war-torn nation will completely stop by the end of October due to current funding projections, as UN officials continue to warn of the serious risks posed by funding cuts amidst the Taliban's restrictions on women. Lee stated, "We can provide our services to five million people for two more months, but after that, we will have no resources... I think this illustrates the difficulty of the situation." Aid reductions will begin in August, then drop further in September before completely halting in October, according to the World Food Programme’s estimates of available funding and financial pledges made by donor countries in the coming months. Lee mentioned that the programme needs $1 billion in funding to provide food aid and carry out planned projects until March next year. She added that the World Food Programme will remain in Afghanistan and continue its other activities, such as nutrition projects, even if anticipated aid is reduced. She noted that restrictions on women represent a "legitimate concern" for donors, but added that almost half of the beneficiaries of the World Food Programme's aid are women and girls. The programme has already reduced food rations and cash assistance allocated to eight million Afghans this year, highlighting the severe financial challenges faced by relief agencies in Afghanistan. The UN states that Afghanistan is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.