The International Committee of Red Cross said on Saturday its operations in Afghanistan face a funding crisis because of the coronavirus pandemic.
ICRC chief Peter Maurer, who was speaking at the annual International Institute for Strategic Studies summit in Bahrain, said that the shortfall in funding for its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan comes at a time “when we see people’s needs are skyrocketing and economic crises are looming.”
The ICRC made an appeal for 2.6 billion for 2021 to support its work for people affected by armed conflict.
Both Afghanistan and Iraq fall under ICRC’s top 10 largest operations.
For Afghanistan, the aid group needs $88.5 million and in Iraq, it needs $123.8 million.
“Laying the groundwork for stabilisation, humanitarian work remains severely underfunded,” Mr Maurer said.
To add to their worries, the outbreak of coronavirus has seen some “donor states reallocate funds to domestic issues”, he said.
Mr Maurer said those affected by wars and conflicts were “exhausted with the years of violence and they describe wars fought without mercy or humanity”.
