UNHCR warns health services add to humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

The World Health Organization and the best US epidemiologists have joined the UNHCR’s alarm bell: “Humanitarian emergencies are exacerbated by health conditions, particularly due to the variants of Covid and influenza.” The 80 million refugees in the world do not have access to vaccines or medicines. The situation is very grave with internally displaced persons in Afghanistan and countries receiving nearly twenty million exiles abroad, especially Pakistan and Iran. Afghans represent about 25 percent of the world’s refugees and displaced persons.

Written by Carlos Matias.

Afghanistan, the epicenter of the earthquake

One in four refugees and displaced persons in the world is Afghan. In recent weeks, all international websites have focused on Afghanistan. The Taliban’s rise to power last August led to a significant increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons.

In the last half century, Afghanistan suffered from internal and external migration about twenty million people, Which represents twenty-five percent of the refugees, displaced persons or exiles that exist in the world today. Nearly half of these 20 million refugees and displaced persons are now occurring, as a result of the recent humanitarian crisis caused by the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. And the number continues to grow.

UNHCR on the front line

The Afghan humanitarian crisis led to the urgent evacuation, in this country, of all military forces and diplomatic delegations of most of the countries that were there until last August, with the exception of a few governments, such as the government of Russia. China or Venezuela, which has remained in Afghanistan so far.

With them, he left many, if not all, NGOs and international humanitarian agencies.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees remains Assist and take care of the local population, both inside and outside the country, to try to mitigate the unrestricted emergency as much as possible. He is on the front line in Afghanistan. even in High Commissioner, italian Filippo Grandi In mid-September – a month after the Taliban came to power – an official visit to the Asian country for three days.

UNHCR It was the first international humanitarian organization to announce that it would remain in the area, despite the obvious danger to its members. Other organizations have followed his example, and are in the same danger.

desperate situation

Filippo Grandi He called on the international community to send more aid and support of all kinds, both to the local population and to the Thousands of Afghan refugees who had to flee abroad. Some help and support “urgent” And what should be done? “uninterrupted”.

“The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan continues to cause despair,” He said old, Even before recent events.

In all, more than eighteen million Afghans are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and more than 3.5 million people have been forced from their homes as a result of the conflict, although they remain within the country. This number includes nearly six hundred and thirty thousand people uprooted from their homes so far in 2021. Their total exceeds twenty million refugees, displaced persons and exiles.

“If the economy and public services collapse, we will see more suffering, instability and displacement inside and outside the country,” to caution Filippo Grandi The humanitarian crisis could reach even greater proportions and have global consequences.

UNHCR in other countries and regions

Unfortunately, the situation in Afghanistan is tragic, it is not the only one. The eighty million refugees and displaced persons come from more than twenty countries and territories scattered all over the planet and represent one percent of the world’s population.

The “top 14” of these emergencies, according to UNHCRThey reside, in addition to Afghanistan, in Central America (especially in Nicaragua); in Venezuela in Syria; in the Tigray region of Ethiopia; in Nigeria; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; in South Sudan; In Yemen; in the Sahel region (Sahara, Central Sudan); in Myanmar (the emergence of the Rohingya); in Burundi and the Central African Republic.

There are other “hotspots” occurring with the crisis in Haiti; southern Mauritania; northern Senegal; central Mali; northern Burkina Faso; southern Niger; central Chad; Eritrea and Ethiopia.

however, UNHCR You do not receive the funding you need for such an emergency. Just received, so far, A third of the money you need

Spain, the third country in the world to support refugees

A recent survey by Ipsos (June 2021) on the perception of refugees in several countries placed Spain in third place in the world, with the largest number of citizens. believe in the right to seek asylum in other countries, It stands at 79% of the population, behind Sweden (81%) and the Netherlands (80%).

Spain is the country where fewer citizens believe that borders should be closed to such people in the event of an emergency (35%). However, our country is not one of the most welcoming to refugees. Turkey leads the ranking (almost four million in 2020), followed by Colombia (with a length of one and a half million), Pakistan, Uganda and Germany. The latter is the only country in Europe among the top ten.