KABUL,30 March 2022, (TON): A United Nations Development Program official said in order to address the humanitarian and economic challenges in Afghanistan, it is necessary to invest in reviving Afghanistan’s economy.

Achim Steiner, Director General of UNDP, who recently came to Afghanistan, in a meeting in Kabul said “it is necessary to maintain the international community’s interest in Afghanistan in order to provide humanitarian assistance to the country.”

he said “the answer to these challenges is also to invest in the recovery of Afghanistan’s economy. That means recognizing that the people of this country need urgent support to also be able to earn their own livelihoods, to have income to be able to buy food, to send children to school, to pay medical bills.”

Steiner said “several factors have contributed to the economic freefall of the country which includes not only the political turmoil, but also Covid-19 and a drought (that) has created an economic reality in Afghanistan today that is essentially turning more and more people into poor people.”

Steiner said investment in Afghanistan’s economy is necessary to stabilize the economic freefall, otherwise, based on UNDP’s earlier reporting, about 90 percent of Afghanistan’s population will live below the poverty line by the end of the year.