March 31 (Reuters) – A total of 41 donor countries have pledged more than $2.44 billion for the United Nations’ $4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the body said on Thursday. world, as international concerns grew over the Taliban denying girls a secondary education.

Belgian Development Cooperation Minister Meryame Kitir said: “Education empowers women and girls and that is what the Taliban are afraid of.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the high-level conference by urging donors to provide unconditional funding, saying 9 million Afghans faced starvation and families were selling children and organs to survive.

The humanitarian situation has “deteriorated alarmingly” since the Taliban takeover in August and the economy has virtually collapsed, he said.

“Around 95% of people do not have enough to eat. Nine million people are at risk of starvation. UNICEF estimates that one million severely malnourished children are on the verge of death, without immediate action”, did he declare.

Guterres called for the reopening of schools for all students in Afghanistan without discrimination.

Britain, the European Union and the United States have pledged funds, but along with Turkey and others have expressed concern over growing restrictions imposed by hardline Islamist leaders.

“This humanitarian aid, like all aid from the United States, will go directly to NGOs and the United Nations. The Taliban will not control our humanitarian funding,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, pledging $204 million.

Ahead of the campaign, Britain pledged 286 million pounds ($374 million) for Afghanistan, where six out of 10 Afghans need aid, much of it food. Read more

British Minister of State Lord Ahmad said: “While today we are rightly focusing on critical humanitarian issues, many of the interventions today also raised the increasing restrictions tragically imposed on the Afghan people, but especially to women and girls, to the media and even to civil society. society.”

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, speaking from Doha after talks with the Taliban in Kabul this week, said: “I had the strong impression that the door to dialogue with the authorities of de facto remains open, they want to find a constructive way to work with us.

“They don’t necessarily know how to work with the international community, including on the complex issue of girls’ education. I hope we can solve this problem in the future.”

At the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul, he had seen tiny malnourished children and newborns sharing ventilators. The level of human suffering left him speechless, Griffiths said.

The United Nations says funds under the appeal – three times the amount requested in 2021 – go directly to aid agencies and none go through de facto authorities.

Additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by William Maclean, Nick Macfie and Howard Goller

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