Thousands of Afghans receive assistance: UN agency

Kabul: Thousands of Afghans have received humanitarian assistance within a week from September 27 to October 3 across the country, a UN agency has announced.

In the northeastern region, over 173,000 vulnerable people received food assistance in Baghlan, Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan said in a report.

"All health facilities are open in Kunduz and Baghlan provinces, but most are not fully functioning mainly due to shortage of medical supplies," Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

In the north, a total of 54,796 vulnerable people received food for one month under a World Food Programme (WFP) seasonal livelihood support program in Jawzjan and Sari Pul provinces.

On September 30, 3,150 displaced people by conflict from Jawzjan, Samangan and Balkh provinces in July and August received food in Mazar-i-Sharif city, capital of Balkh.

A total of 232 vulnerable conflict-affected people in Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Nimroz and Zabul provinces were identified to receive food, relief items, water and hygiene supplies.

In the east, 3,548 people received emergency outpatient health services and 45 children were vaccinated for polio and measles.

In the central part of the country, some 2,030 people in the country's capital of Kabul received cash to return back to their places of origin.

Following the Taliban's takeover in August, the security situation remained generally calm across the country.

According to the OCHA, millions Afghans have been deeply affected by decades of conflict and displacement, chronic poverty, the Covid-19 pandemic, a severe drought, a failing health system and an economy on the brink of collapse.