More support vital to put Afghanistan back on positive trajectory: Top UN officials

After four decades of conflict and insecurity, and with elections to be held in the coming months against a backdrop of growing humanitarian need, Afghanistan needs more support than ever to tackle its challenges, the UN humanitarian and refugee chiefs said on Monday after a joint two-day visit to the war-torn country.

"The world needs to pay a bit more attention again to Afghanistan to help them through this challenging period. It's possible that a year from now they could be back on a positive trajectory if they get the right engagement and help, UN humanitarian affairs chief Mark Lowcock said, speaking along side UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Geneva, ahead of a major international conference on Afghanistan due to be held in November.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 4.2 million people in Afghanistan are in acute need of humanitarian assistance, including 1.9 million internally displaced by conflict, and more than 60,000 refugees who have returned home and need help to restart their lives.

In addition, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) highlights that, outside the country, 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees are hosted by Pakistan and Iran, along with an even larger number of undocumented Afghans.

Ongoing insecurity, including terrorist attacks and growing criminality, was cited by Grandi as "having a very negative impact," as it "continues to produce internal displacement" and "has caused a sharp decline in the number of people going back to Afghanistan."