Following a meeting between the UN humanitarian chief and Afghan authorities, the Afghan authorities pledged to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and to facilitate access for relief aid

Afghanistan: Taliban say they will guarantee security for aid workers

photo_camera PMA/Arete/Andrew Quilty - Food distribution at a World Food Programme warehouse in Kabul last May.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs met on Sunday in Kabul with Mullah Baradar, who press sources say will be the new head of Afghanistan's government, and Taliban leaders to discuss a range of humanitarian issues, according to a statement from the UN Secretary-General's spokesman.

During the meeting, the Afghan authorities pledged to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, to facilitate humanitarian access for people in need, to ensure the freedom of movement of humanitarian workers, both men and women, and to cooperate with the humanitarian community to ensure the delivery of aid to the Afghan population.

For his part, Martin Griffiths reiterated the humanitarian community's commitment to "impartial and independent delivery of relief assistance and protection to millions of people in need".

Griffiths stressed the need for women to play a central role in the delivery of humanitarian aid and called on all parties to ensure their rights, safety and well-being.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator called for the continued protection of all civilians, especially women, girls and minorities.

The Under-Secretary-General plans to meet in the coming days with representatives of humanitarian organisations still operating in Afghanistan, both UN and non-governmental organisations.

António Guterres convenes meeting on humanitarian aid on 13 September

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday convened a high-level ministerial meeting on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan on 13 September.

Afghanistan is facing an extremely difficult situation due to a long-running conflict, severe drought and the EVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly half of Afghans - some 18 million people - are dependent on humanitarian aid, a third of the population does not know where their next meal will come from, more than half of children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition and the severe drought in the country, the second in four years, will contribute further to hunger in the coming months.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs plans to launch a flash appeal on 7 September to address the most urgent humanitarian and budgetary needs for the next four months.

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