DHAKA, 12 December 2021, (TON): The World Bank said “international donors agreed to release $280 million in aid to Afghanistan”, after repeated warnings that more than half the population face acute food shortages this winter.

The World Bank said in a statement “the fund from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) will go “to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan at this critical time.”

The funds will go to UNICEF and the World Food Programme, who “have presence and logistics capacity on the ground in Afghanistan and will use these funds to cover financing gaps in their existing programs to deliver health and nutrition services directly to the Afghan people.”

The bank’s management earlier this month offered the proposal to re-direct the funds intended for rebuilding efforts.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Around 22 million Afghans, or more than half the country, will face an “acute” food shortage in the winter months, forcing millions to choose between migration and starvation.