WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (centre) speaks to hospital staff at the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan National Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie

Afghanistan’s healthcare system on brink of collapse, as hunger hits 95 per cent of families

22 September 2021

Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse, the head of the World Health Organisation, WHO, warned on Wednesday, while on the streets of Kabul, the hunger families are suffering is as acute in urban areas as the drought-stricken rural parts of the country.

From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.

WMO/Shravan Regret Iyer

News in Brief 17 September 2021

17 September 2021

News in Brief

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Audio -

3'25"

Food is distributed by WFP in Herat in western Afghanistan in August 2021.

First humanitarian flight to Kabul marks 'turning point' in crisis: WFP

14 September 2021

Humanitarian Aid

The return of humanitarian flights to Kabul since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is a turning point in the crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.

Food supplies are lined up for distribution to people facing hunger and in need of humanitarian assistance in Herat in western Afghanistan.

News in Brief 14 September 2021

14 September 2021

News in Brief

First humanitarian flight to Kabul marks ‘turning point’: WFP
After 10 years of war in Syria, siege tactics make their return
Unremitting suffering in Yemen in spotlight at Human Rights Council

Audio -

4'27"

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths speaks to UN News ahead of a crucial international conference on the needs of the Afghan people.

UN Geneva/Srdan Slavkovic

INTERVIEW: UN aid chief on humanitarian relief for Afghanistan, women’s rights and the Taliban

11 September 2021

Humanitarian Aid

A major funding appeal for Afghanistan is due to take place on Monday, 13 September. Ahead of the launch, Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, took part in an interview with UN News, in which he reiterated his belief that the country’s new Taliban leaders understand the significance placed by the international community on upholding women’s rights, and on providing guarantees so that aid agencies can function.

Audio - 9'40" Playlist