Humanitarian aid kicks off in Afghanistan as air service resumes: UN

The Humanitarian Air Service will be restarting operations in Afghanistan in order to put the power back into the hands of nearly 160 organisations providing humanitarian aid to those living in the country, according to US media reports citing statements from officials of the United Nations.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that the air passenger service, operated by the Rome-based United Nations World Food Program, is linking the Pakistani capital of Islamabad with Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Kandahar in the southeast regions of Afghanistan.

While the United Nations official said that the operations are likely to pick up pace in the upcoming days, he also announced, on behalf of the World Food Program, that three flights have already left for Mazar-i-Sharif, according to reports from Associated Press.

An airbridge is being established between the cities in order to maintain a supply of non-food items, including medical supplies.

Dujarric also spoke about the funding requirements of the humanitarian operations in Afghanistan and clarified that about $12 million are needed for the cargo airbridge and $18 million for domestic passenger service.

Dujarric said, “From 2002 to 2021, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service in Afghanistan served more than 20 destinations in the country. It will seek to return to these locations once security and funding permits”, according to reports from Associated Press.

As Afghanistan grapples to restore stability after decades of war, a senior United Nations official warned that the stockpile of food in the country provided by the organisation could run out by the end of this month, pushing the South Asian nation into a hunger crisis.

The United Nation’s humanitarian chief in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said about one-third of the country’s population of 38 million doesn’t know if they will have a meal every day, reported the Associated Press.