Humanitarian aid not helping eliminate poverty, says Habib

KABUL (SW) – Officials at the Ministry of Economy say that the United Nations and international aid organizations can help the economic growth of this country by working on infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

Abdurrahman Habib, the spokesman of the Ministry of Economy, told Salam Watandar the aid provided under the umbrella of humanitarian aid has not had any effect on poverty reduction. “In the current situation, we need to provide economic infrastructure for reconstruction and job opportunities to people.”

On the other hand, a number of experts in economic issues cconsider the cutting of United Nations aid to be worrying and say that this will cause the scope of poverty to increase and the number of needy people in Afghanistan to increase.

Lal Zazi, an expert on economic issues, said that banning women from working in aid organizations has caused a reduction in the aid of international organizations to Afghanistan, and this increases the economic crisis in the country. He aadded “The only way [to provide] food for many people, especially in the provinces, is humanitarian aid. When these aids are reduced, people will lose their source of food, and under the existing conditions, every effort should be made not to reduce these aids.”

Abdulwafi Naibzai, another expert on economic issues, said that lifting the ban on women working in relief organizations can increase humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. According to him, with the reduction of UN aid, all sectors will suffer.

“The government should find a way to increase humanitarian aid [and] interact with other countries in a way that does not harm our national values and prevent the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) has recently announced that the aid budget for Afghanistan for 2023 has been reduced from $ 4.6 billion to $  3.2 billion. Ocha has called the ban on women’s work in relief organizations as the main reason for the changes in this budget.

ENDS

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