Afghanistan’s More Than War Challenges

The UN chief says the crisis in Afghanistan needs more than a simple military solution.

The Trump administration is concerned about not winning the war in Afghanistan and is recalibrating its strategy, but the UN says the war-torn Asian nation’s problems cannot be remedied only by military means.

On his first visit to Afghanistan as the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said “Peace is the solution for the problem”.

Mr. Guterres visited a makeshift camp for internally displaced people outside the Afghan capital Kabul and said the world body “stands with Afghanistan at a time of violence and suffering”. Internal displacement, largely caused by war, has hit record levels in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led coalition changed the regime in late 2001. More than one million are currently displaced inside the country, according to the aid agencies.

On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary, Jim Mattis, told lawmakers in Washington, DC that U.S. was not winning the war in Afghanistan. He said “we will correct this as soon as possible”.

As humanitarian needs expand in Afghanistan donors have failed to pledge even 15 percent of a UN-led humanitarian response appeal.

UN and aid agencies have put a joint appeal for $550 million for relief operations in Afghanistan this year. As of mid-June, donors have only pledged $92 million.

More than 3,400 civilians lost their lives and almost 8,000 were wounded in the war last year, according to the UN.

Here is a snapshot of Afghanistan’s most pressing humanitarian challenges: