The United Nation has launched a Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) for Afghanistan to save lives and help the people of Afghanistan in 2022 through sustaining essential services and preserving essential community systems.

The UN office in Afghanistan in a statement on Wednesday said the TEF is the overarching strategic planning document which ensures the coordination of the UN teams in Afghanistan for serving the people of Afghanistan amid the severe economic and financial problems in the country.

“This UN system wide strategy will help ensure that Afghans can meet their basic human needs; acting on this now is more important than ever to avoid that an even wider proportion of the population requires lifesaving humanitarian assistance. It’s especially important now as millions are suffering with the harsh winter months, and we thank the international community for stepping up their vital support to the Afghan population,” said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov.

According to the UN, the UN teams need $8 billion to implement TEF and this fund includes the $4.4 billion it requested on January 11 through the Humanitarian Response Plan. The Humanitarian Response Plan will deliver lifesaving assistance to 22.1 million people, the statement said, adding that another $3.6 billion is needed to sustain essential services such as health and education and support community system through TEF.

“The United Nations are grateful to all donors for their continued generous support of relief and recovery efforts in Afghanistan, demonstrating the strong solidarity of the international community with the people of Afghanistan,” Dr. Alakbarov said, launching the TEF in Kabul today with UN team representatives and members of the international community.  

On Wednesday, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a UN Security Council session on Afghanistan also called for the international community to continue supporting the people of Afghanistan. “As a matter of moral responsibility – and regional and global security and prosperity – we cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan,” he said. He also called on the World Bank to immediately release a pending $1.2 billion in reconstruction funds to Afghanistan.

Guterres’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, also urged the international community to maintain its support for the people of Afghanistan. She also called on the international community –the US – to ease some of the economic sanctions.

On Thursday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) also in a new report said the economic sanctions have disrupted Afghanistan’s banking systems which prevents move of money into and within the country by the humanitarian agencies.

NRC has also called for easing of economic measures to enable aid organizations reach millions of Afghanistan in need of humanitarian support.