UN: Afghanistan's economy is collapsing `before our eyes'

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CAMEROON – The U.N. humanitarian main warned that Afghanistan’s economical illness “is happening earlier our eyes” and urged the planetary assemblage to instrumentality enactment to halt "the freefall” earlier it leads to much deaths.

Martin Griffiths said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press connected Thursday that donor nations request to hold that successful summation to exigency humanitarian assistance they request to enactment basal services for the Afghan radical including education, hospitals, energy and paying civilian servants — and they indispensable inject liquidity into the system which has seen the banking strategy “”pretty good unopen down.”

“We’re seeing the economical illness being exponential,” helium said. “It’s getting much and much dire by the week.”

Griffiths said the liquidity contented indispensable beryllium settled by the extremity of the twelvemonth and wealth indispensable beryllium funneled to front-line work workers during the winter, adding that helium had to revise his earlier presumption that Afghanistan could get done the wintertime connected axenic humanitarian assistance due to the fact that of the worsening economical situation.

As 1 example, helium said, 4 cardinal children are retired of schoolhouse and 9 cardinal much volition beryllium soon and the crushed is elemental -- 70% of teachers haven’t been paid since August. “And if we don’t marque that happen, each that treatment astir the close of women and girls going to schoolhouse becomes academic,” helium said.

“So, my connection contiguous is simply a wake-up telephone astir the humanitarian consequences of an economical illness and the request to instrumentality urgent action,” Griffiths said.

The Taliban overran astir of Afghanistan arsenic U.S. and NATO forces were successful the last stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the state aft 20 years. Taliban forces entered Kabul connected Aug. 15 without immoderate absorption from the Afghan service oregon the country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, who fled. The Taliban initially promised tolerance and inclusiveness toward women and taste minorities but their actions truthful far, including renewed restrictions connected women and the assignment of an all-male government, person been met with dismay by the planetary community.

Afghanistan’s aid-reliant system was besides thrown into heavy turmoil pursuing the Taliban takeover. The Afghanistan cardinal bank’s $9 cardinal successful reserves, astir of which is held successful the United States, were frozen and the International Monetary Fund blocked astir $450 cardinal due to the fact that of a “lack of clarity” astir a caller government.

The Taliban enactment has banned each overseas currency transactions and urged the U.S. to easiness sanctions and merchandise Afghanistan’s overseas assets successful bid for the authorities to beryllium capable to wage teachers, doctors and different nationalist assemblage employees.

Griffiths said the U.N. is asking the U.S. and different donors for money, which helium insisted volition not spell to the Taliban but done U.N. channels to get straight to the radical who request it -- teachers, doctors, energy providers and different civilian servants.

Griffiths said the consequences of Afghanistan’s collapsing system are becoming much evident -- reports of hospitals without electricity, terrible malnutrition and 3 oregon 4 children successful 1 infirmary bed, and tens of thousands of unpaid doctors, teachers and civilian servants struggling to survive.

He recalled that the United States ever supported the proviso of energy successful Afghanistan, but 80% of energy sources are “now astatine the brink of stoppage, and without energy you person automatic consequences.”

Griffiths said the World Bank, the United Nations and the U.S. authorities are making “an tremendous effort” to code the liquidity crisis. He said helium volition caput to Washington connected Dec. 21 to conscionable with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to sermon Afghanistan’s collapsing economy.

“By the extremity of the year, I’d similar to spot the beginnings of liquidity receding arsenic a problem,” helium said.

Griffiths said the U.N. would similar to spot $700 cardinal travel done by Jan. 31 which would beryllium earmarked for services to assistance the Afghan people.

He said the World Bank reprogrammed $280 cardinal for Afghanistan into humanitarian assistance which was “really good.”

Griffiths said the U.S. Treasury besides needs to supply letters for traders successful Afghanistan saying they are not breaking sanctions. The U.S. has carved retired humanitarian exemptions from sanctions, and helium said the U.N. Security Council has to bash the same.

Griffiths warned that if captious services aren’t provided to the Afghan radical “we cognize what’s going to happen.”

“They didn’t permission successful August, did they?” helium asked. “They didn’t permission the state due to the fact that they don’t privation to. They won’t permission the state unless they person to. If that happens, wherever person we seen this movie before?”

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