International Committee of the Red Cross may stop supporting Afghanistan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) does not have enough resources to help maintain full and long-term functioning of public health services in Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

From the end of August, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) may end its financial support program for 25 hospitals in Afghanistan due to difficulties in funding.

The announcement comes amid growing concerns after international aid agencies and organizations cut financial support to the South-central Asian nation.

Explaining to Reuters news agency on August 17, Mr. Diogo Alcantara, Spokesperson of the ICRC said that the ICRC does not have enough resources to help maintain the full and long-term operation of public health care services in Afghanistan.

However, the spokesperson said the ICRC continues to work with Afghan ministries, as well as donors and other organizations, to find sustainable financial support mechanisms.

The Geneva-based agency will continue to support Afghanistan's health sector through other programs, such as the rehabilitation support program for people with disabilities.

In April, the ICRC said its board of directors had approved a cost-cutting plan worth 430 million francs (about $475.30 million) for operations in 2023 and extending to early 2024.

The agency is also scaling back operations in some areas of Afghanistan amid expected budget cuts for humanitarian aid programs.

Since the Taliban returned to power on August 15, 2021, many development aid organizations and agencies have also left Afghanistan or cut back on development assistance programs for the Southwest Asian country.

The sudden cuts have affected the ability to maintain essential public services such as health care.

At that time, in order to save Afghanistan's health care system from the risk of collapse due to financial difficulties, the ICRC and other international organizations continued to implement a financial support program for hospitals in Afghanistan to pay for staff salaries and other expenses.

The ICRC has stopped funding eight of the 33 hospitals that initially received financial support.

Diplomats and aid officials have expressed concern that Taliban restrictions on women are causing many donors to cut financial support to Afghanistan.

According to aid agencies, about 75% of the country's population currently depends on humanitarian assistance./.

Nguyen Ha (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

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