India delivers 3 tons of aid to Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, in need of $5 billion worth of aid to battle a deadly crisis, receives some from India.
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boxes AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine donated by the Indian government unloaded, Feb. 7, 2021 (AP)
India has delivered the fourth batch of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, including 3 tons of essential medicine, according to the Indian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
"As part of our ongoing humanitarian assistance, India supplied the fourth batch of medical assistance consisting of 3 tons of essential life-saving medicines to Afghanistan. The same was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul," the Ministry said in a statement.
India's commitment to providing humanitarian aid to the Afghan people was also reiterated by the ministry: "In this endeavor, we had already supplied three shipments of medical assistance, consisting of 500,000 doses of COVID vaccine and essential life-saving medicines to Afghanistan. The same was handed over to the WHO and Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul," the statement said.
India will also be sending more batches of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, containing medical supplies and grain.
Read more: UN calls for $5B aid for Afghanistan in 2022
Afghanistan has been experiencing a harsh economic crisis.
Last Saturday, the Taliban delegation discussed frozen Afghan assets, sanctions, and humanitarian assistance with US Treasury officials in Norway, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, which is led by the Taliban.
A Taliban delegation, headed by the Foreign Minister of Kabul's interim government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, made its way for a three-day visit to Norway with the aim to deliberate on the provision of humanitarian aid, as well as to discuss political, educational, and economic issues.
"Serious and effective talks were also held with senior US Treasury officials on frozen assets, economic sanctions, humanitarian aid, and expediting economic activities to ease restrictions on banking transactions and the free flow of money," the Ministry said in a statement.
Millions of Afghans on verge of death: UN warns
Earlier this month, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the United States and the World Bank to take action and unfreeze the Afghan funds they have been holding since the Taliban assumed power in the country bearing the brunt of the chaotic US withdrawal and nearing economic collapse as the West withholds the country's funds following a US occupation that lasted 20 years.
"We must... rapidly inject liquidity into the economy and avoid a meltdown that would lead to poverty, hunger, and destitution for millions," Guterres told reporters in New York.
Washington has frozen billions of dollars of assets, with aid supplies being heavily disrupted and over half the population on the brink of famine.
An estimated 4.7 million people will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022, 1.1 million are children, aid agencies say.
Guterres called on Washington to take the lead in helping the country avoid a meltdown "because the major part of the world financial system works in dollars."
"I hope the remaining resources - more than $1.2 billion" from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) "will become available to help Afghanistan's people survive the winter," Guterres hoped.
