KABUL (Dispatches) – Afghan women rallied in Kabul on Wednesday, calling on the West to unfreeze the nation’s assets as its humanitarian crisis deepens.
On Wednesday, Afghan women gathered in front of the abandoned U.S. embassy in the Afghan capital.
Some wielded placards reading: “We Afghan women support the Islamic Emirate,” referring to the Taliban.
Banners also called on Washington to open access to $9.5 billion in Afghanistan central bank assets, which it froze when the Taliban seized power following a chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces last year.
Since the Taliban returned to office they have grappled with a rising humanitarian crisis.
The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) has warned that more than one million children in Afghanistan are at the risk of severe acute malnutrition and death, calling for humanitarian aid to prevent the catastrophe.
Pravaran Mahat, a communication specialist at UNICEF’s South Asia regional office, after his visit to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul on Sunday called for “urgent action”.
“UNICEF estimates that without urgent action, more than one million children [in Afghanistan] can suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“That’s why we, as UNICEF, urge and request our countries’ partners and donors to rally support behind the children in Afghanistan,” he added, stressing “They need help. They need it now.”
Mahat noted that Afghan healthcare workers were overwhelmed and mothers were exhausted and concerned over the health condition of their children.
Almost five months after the U.S.-led international coalition hastily abandoned the South Asian country, millions of Afghans are teetering at the brink of starvation, with no food and no money.
UN aid agencies have described the country’s situation as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises. According to the UN humanitarian coordination office, half the population is now battling acute hunger, and over nine million people have been displaced.
The world body had earlier warned that millions of Afghans could run out of food before the onset of harsh winter and around one million children were at the risk of starvation and death.