The United Nations has raised more than $1.1 billion in humanitarian and development aid for Afghanistan. The emergency pledges were announced Monday, after the first high-level conference of government ministers from Western countries on Afghanistan since the Taliban took power a month ago.
“The people of Afghanistan need a lifeline,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the opening of the conference. “After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour. Now is the time for the international community to stand with them. And let us be clear, this conference is not simply about what we will give to the people of Afghanistan. It is about what we owe.”
The UN’s World Food Programme said 14 million Afghans were on the brink of starvation. Some $200 million of the new pledges is earmarked for the program.