Australian Senate Calls on the Government to Increase Aid to Afghanistan
Australian senators have called on the government to ramp up its aid to Afghanistan amid warning of a major humanitarian crisis.
According to the Guardian, Senators said on Monday that 13.1 million children need help now and 95% of Afghans could be living in poverty by the middle of the year.
The senators added that children in Afghanistan are rummaging through bins looking for plastic to sell while women sit in the middle of busy roads begging for food. This should lead the Australian Government to increase its humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, some aid workers in Afghanistan have told the Australian senators about the plight of Afghanistan, expressing concern over the growing poverty and famine in the country.
The acting country director for Afghanistan at Save the Children, addressing a Senate hearing by videoconference, said half of Afghanistan’s population was aged under 18 and they have no real future at the moment.
Mat Tinkler, the organization’s chief executive in Australia, described the situation in Afghanistan as a “living hell”.
“We are currently witnessing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, and the risk of death of a growing number of children is becoming more acute and urgent every day,” he added.
The Australian government pledged $100 million last year to help the Afghan people, of which $52 million had to be donated in 2021 and early 2022.