Afghanistan: UN team in Kabul to ensure transparency with humanitarian aid

An United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair (OCHA) Director in the operations and advocacy division, Reena Ghelani, said the organisation has established a new system to monitor the humanitarian aid process in order to prevent corruption.

Ghelani, who is leading a nine-member delegation of the UN, which has arrived in Kabul to monitor the distribution of humanitarian aid, made the remarks in a special interview with TOLOnews.

She said they are working with 180 Afghan and international organisations to conduct a transparent aid process, TOLOnews reported.

She urged the international community to support the people of Afghanistan.

"Absolutely, the UN and its -- NGO partners -- we have asked for $4.4 billion, which we do not have yet, we need to raise this money because we need to urgently get assistance to people. We saw horrible nutrition…. We saw children begging to go to school, both boys and girls," she added.

A member of the delegation said there is a need to work with the local communities and organisations to provide aid for the people.

"We urge the Joe Biden administration to work in close collaboration with (the) Afghans, especially women and local organisations..." she said.

This comes as many Afghans have voiced concerns over what they called the unfair distribution of aid.

"What are the necessary steps to be taken for countering corruption in the distribution of aid?"

"If the aid was provided in cash, it would help the value of the Afghan currency and would solve the cash problems in the markets," said Abdul Naseer Rishtia, a university professor.

"The government should assess the aid provided by the UN. The contracts of the UN organisations should be shared (with the government) and the government must investigate it to see if the aid is provided to the people who deserve it," said Muzamil Shinwari, an economist.

Afghanistan has recently seen a dire humanitarian crisis with millions of people struggling with starvation.

--IANS

int/khz/