Afghanistan desperately reliant on intl. aid, conference told
A Swedish diplomat says the persisting crisis in Afghanistan has left the country increasingly reliant on international humanitarian aid that can only provide short-term relief without resolving key problems.
Sweden's Ambassador to Afghanistan Anders Sjoberg said Saturday that the Asian nation’s continued reliance on such aid points to wider failures.
"Let us acknowledge that we've been doing this work in Afghanistan for too long," Sjoberg said at a gathering of international and Afghan bodies in Kabul.
"This is a failure in itself. Humanitarian aid is not short-term anymore, it has unfortunately become a Band-Aid for the unresolved conflict."
Sjoberg said the crisis highlights the need to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict without pointing to any specific plans.
The development came as international organs launched a request for $550 million in new funding for the impoverished nation.
This is while the United Nations estimates that at least 9.3 million Afghans -- nearly a third of the population -- will require humanitarian assistance in 2017, a 13-percent increase compared to last year which comes amid growing violence, economic stagnation, and social upheaval in the country.
Although the US military occupation of Afghanistan ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, it also deteriorated the security situation across the country, causing near daily violence and steady displacement of its people.
Last year, however, saw record increases in the number of people displaced by the violence, with at least 626,000 additional people fleeing their homes, compared to nearly 70,000 in 2011, when the US-led military invasion was at its height.
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