U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says Afghanistan needs flexible and sustained international funding before the end of this year to prevent the further collapse of the economy, and he will press the United States to help during meetings in Washington next week.
“What we have become very painfully aware of in recent weeks is that the freefall of the economy is much more violent, severe and urgent than we feared,” Griffiths told VOA recently.
“We thought we would manage to survive the winter with pure humanitarian assistance. We now know it’s not enough. We need more.”
Over the past two decades, Afghanistan’s economy has heavily depended on foreign aid to survive. Some 75% of the former government’s budget was donor-funded, as was 40% of its GDP.
Since the Taliban took over on Aug. 15, the suspension of most international aid has contributed to the breakdown in most basic services, including electricity, health services and education.
Inflation is rampant, and the price of ordinary goods is beyond the reach of most Afghans.