Caritas still has difficulties in supporting the people in Afghanistan. The Taliban hardly allow any outside help. The welfare association wants to explore new possibilities for help on site - and draws an optimistic, albeit cautious, conclusion.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is still dramatic. Around 28 million Afghans are in urgent need of help, including 13 million children. In addition, 17 million people suffer from acute hunger. This is where Caritas could start to support people. According to Oliver Müller, head of Caritas Germany, it's not that easy. He still has hope.
"We are currently having great difficulty in reaching needy women and children. The need for this target group in particular can hardly be described, the desperation of the women and families is palpable," he says in a press release. He is currently in Kabul to explore the possibilities of further aid under the difficult circumstances. "My impression after a few talks with partners is that the aid could continue under certain conditions in some regions," was his first tentative conclusion.
On December 24 of last year, the Taliban almost completely brought the aid projects of the non-governmental organizations to a standstill by banning women from working in the aid organizations. "As a result, only medical projects could continue, we had to pause all other aid because we could no longer reach women and their children without our employees. A clear disregard for humanitarian principles and a complete ignorance of the situation of the people who urgently need help," says the head of the aid organization of the German Caritas Association.
So far it is not clear how the situation of the population could improve. According to the current status, aid supplies from outside are needed: Afghanistan's economy is on the ground, the entire country is suffering from drought for the third year. However, de facto authorities make support difficult, sometimes even preventing it altogether.
In view of the situation, the human rights organization Amnesty International called on the United Nations to take action. The impunity of the Taliban must end. "It is time for the international community to turn its repeated public statements into concrete action," Amnesty Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement.
