5m more Afghans will need help in 2021: UN

The United Nations expects to have to help five million more Afghans in 2021 than this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase in conflicts, a UN official said Tuesday. 

The need is increasing and "funding is urgently needed," the acting assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Ramesh Rajasingham, said during a press conference.

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The rise in need is the result of "the Covid-19 crisis, increased conflict and displacements" of the population, he said. "We are going from a situation where we have (asked) for support to target around 11 million people in 2020 to what we estimate will be almost 16 million people next year," Rajasingham said.