INTERNATIONAL: The United Nations and its partners have launched the "biggest ever appeal" for humanitarian aid for Afghanistan worth $4.4 billion on Tuesday, to prevent the country from sinking into a humanitarian crisis and avert catastrophe in 2022.

People in Afghanistan face one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises. Twenty-eight million people in acute need in the country and the region. Half of the population face acute hunger, over 9 million people are displaced, millions of children are out of school, the fundamental rights of women and girls are under attack, farmers and herders are struggling amidst the worst drought in decades, and the economy is in free fall. Without support, tens of thousands of children are at risk of dying from malnutrition as basic health services have collapsed.

Conflict has subsided, but violence, fear, and deprivation continue to drive Afghans to seek safety and asylum across borders, particularly in Iran and Pakistan. More than 2.2 million registered refugees and a further 4 million Afghans with different statuses are hosted in these neighboring countries. This has stretched the capacity of the communities hosting them, who also need support.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, the key is to stabilize the situation inside Afghanistan, including that of people who are displaced inside their own country, and to prevent a larger crisis of external displacement.

The humanitarian aid would help the economy and allow humanitarian agencies to operate more effectively in the country.