Press Release

Joint Statement by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and the Heads of ICRC, OCHA, UNICEF, and WHO in Afghanistan

29 September 2021

On 27 September 2021, we met in Kabul for an urgent meeting on the alarming situation facing people requiring healthcare in Afghanistan and the dire human consequences if the healthcare system is allowed to collapse.

In the meeting, we agreed to collaborate closely together and have committed our organizations to spare no effort in our joint objective to support the existing health system in Afghanistan to ensure all people have access to the healthcare they need and depend on.

Our organizations are now taking the necessary steps to scale up this collaboration and stand ready to work with donors and UN member states to establish mechanisms that would allow funding to directly support health facilities and life-saving health responses across Afghanistan.

This statement is endorsed by:

Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan

Eloi Fillion, Head of Delegation in Afghanistan, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Dr Luo Dapeng, Country Representative in Afghanistan, World Health Organization (WHO)

Hervé Ludovic De Lys, Country Representative in Afghanistan, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Isabelle Moussard Carlsen, Head of Office in Afghanistan, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Abdallah Al Dardari, Resident Representative in Afghanistan, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Akbar Ali Pesnani, Special Envoy of His Highness the Aga Khan for Afghanistan, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)

Daniel Madhani, Country Director, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA)

Astrid Sletten, Country Director in Afghanistan, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

UN entities involved in this initiative

OCHA
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
RCO
United Nations Resident Coordinator Office
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNICEF
United Nations Children’s Fund
WHO
World Health Organization

Other entities involved in this initiative

ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
NRC
Norwegian Refugee Council

Goals we are supporting through this initiative