UN Refugee Agency Chief Visits Kabul Amid Global Focus on Ukraine

The head of the United Nations refugee agency arrived in Afghanistan’s capital on Tuesday at a time when global attention is focused on Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in that country.

According to the Associated Press, Filippo Grandi’s purpose in traveling to Kabul was to tell Afghans that they have not been forgotten—a message that is particularly crucial given Afghanistan’s current situation under Taliban rule and the spread of poverty in the country.

Mr. Grandi said in an interview with the news agency that some have wondered why he chose to visit Kabul at this moment, but despite global attention being focused elsewhere, the crisis in Afghanistan remains profound.

A Tuesday report from this UN body, which is responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid, states that 96 percent of Afghanistan’s population of 38 million do not have sufficient food.

Mr. Grandi met with Taliban leaders in Kabul on Tuesday and then traveled to the provinces of Kandahar and Nangarhar in southern and eastern Afghanistan. He confirmed that since his previous visit to Afghanistan in September, he is now witnessing progress.

He said that Taliban leaders, having come from the battlefield to take over the governing apparatus, are establishing structures and implementing strategies to address urgent issues, and have now “gained more experience.”

However, he also warned that given the scope of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, overcoming “all this suffering, this hunger, all this despair… takes time.”

Previously, the UN Secretary-General had warned in a report to the Security Council that Afghanistan “is on the brink of a precipice, with millions of people suffering from acute hunger, public services such as education and health are on the verge of collapse, and the lack of adequate financial resources has limited the ability to help those in need.”

Source: Radio Farda