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Saudi relief centre says humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan worse after Taliban takeover

RIYADH: The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated since the Taliban came to power, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, advisor to the Royal Court and supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, told Sputnik.

However, he stressed that the challenges did not prevent the centre from working there.

"The biggest needs are food security, health, and of course, education," he added.

The centre that is working on the ground in Afghanistan noted that they were facing difficulties in their work in the country and expressed hope that the Taliban would improve access as they have plans to do more in the country.

"We have challenges in Afghanistan, big challenges," Al-Rabeeah said. "We're hoping that the Taliban will ease off so that we can expand our work. Same thing which is happening for other countries. The challenges in Afghanistan are big and we hope that the Taliban government will ease the humanitarian side and improve access because we have plans to do more."

"That did not stop us from working," he said.

"We have an office in Kabul that has now been moved down to Pakistan because of the danger but we have worked with several projects, including food security, health projects, but there are a lot of challenges."

After the Taliban took over the government in Afghanistan in August 2021, the United States and several allies cut off external aid that had funded 80 per cent of government expenditures, equivalent to 40 per cent of gross domestic product. Economic disarray and food shortages followed that pushed the country to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

In a report last month, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that Afghanistan faces a very real risk of "systemic collapse", with nearly 66 per cent of the population needing aid, including some 17 million facing acute hunger. – Bernama

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