Afghanistan Peace CampaignIn an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, he stated that global humanitarian aid to Afghanistan is beneficial in the short term.
“The future cannot be humanitarian. I don’t wish even for any population to depend on humanitarian responses for the long-term. This shouldn’t be moving at one point into development responses into national plans to improve the situation … if you ask any country on the planet, It was never humanitarian aid that gave a path for the future. Humanitarian aid should be short-period,” said the ICRC director-general.
Krähenbühl further stressed that the ICRC’s focus is on addressing the challenges faced by the Afghan people and improving their living conditions. He also called for greater global coordination to change the situation in Afghanistan.
“The lives of many Afghans are still in very critical circumstances, and this is why we think that it is important for international actors to participate and cooperate in finding solutions, humanitarian programs, and development assistance. Our contribution has been 40 years of presence here and that we remain focused on the humanitarian priorities that we have with the Afghan Red Crescent,” he added.
Krähenbühl also highlighted the necessity of having trained healthcare workers, both male and female, to ensure fair access to medical services for all citizens.
“In order for people to have access to healthcare, we need skilled personnel and this is very important. So, training of skilled health personnel, be they men or women, is very important because every Afghan man, every Afghan woman, every Afghan boy and every Afghan girl should have access in equal ways to healthcare,” he stated.
According to Krähenbühl, 65% of the services provided by the 47 ICRC health centers in Afghanistan are received by women and children. Additionally, the ICRC supported 200,000 people in the country last year.