Growing numbers of people in Afghanistan will be in need of humanitarian aid this year as the conflict there “deepens and spreads”, according to a UN assessment.
Released early this week, the assessment by representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows that 9.3 million of the country’s 29 million population are now in need, a 13 per cent increase on the previous year.
The assessment also noted that there were 8,397 civilians killed in the first nine months of 2016 – the highest toll on record and including a 15 per cent increase in the number of child casualties. Ground engagements continue to be the main cause of civilian casualties.
“Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous, and most violent, crisis ridden countries in the world,” the report said.
Other findings in the report show that in 2016, there were unprecedented numbers of people displaced by conflict in Afghanistan with 56 per cent of those displaced children who face risks including abuse and exploitation as well as interrupted schooling and their use in labouring.
More than nine million people in the country are believed to have no or limited access to essential health services with rates of infant and maternal mortality among the highest in the world.
The report noted that the crisis of forced displaced was magnified by the return of some 600,000 refugees and undocumented Afghans from neighbouring Pakistan. It says many of those who have returned have “arrived into an unfamiliar country with few possessions, assets or social support networks”.
