Doha: Doha hosted a roundtable and partnership meetings with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), organized by the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The meetings and roundtable sessions discussed the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and mechanisms for improving it, expanding the circle of support from urgent to long-term, and the importance of intensifying humanitarian diplomacy efforts and the work of international humanitarian organizations and national societies that work under one umbrella of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, to enhance efforts in support of the Afghan people to achieve stability and development.

Participants also discussed ways to develop cooperation and support the ARCS’s efforts and capabilities in the fields of education and health, in light of the problem of limited funding and financial support for hu
manitarian work in Afghanistan.

Participants emphasized the importance of supporting humanitarian efforts in light of the complexities of the current situation in Afghanistan and the increasing volume of large needs that the country is witnessing with the worsening economic crisis and natural disasters, which requires the necessity of concerted international efforts to change the form of support from urgent and temporary to long-term and extended.

Secretary-General of QRCS Faisal Mohammed Al Emadi praised the State of Qatar’s pioneering role in the field of humanitarian diplomacy, noting that Doha’s hosting of these discussion sessions for the third consecutive year, as well as the partnership meetings with the ARCS, confirms its great interest in the Afghan issue and its keenness to affirm the inherent right of the Afghan people to a dignified and secure life.

Al Emadi called for urgent measures to be taken to meet the grave needs of the Afghan people, especially in light of concerns about the worsening s
ituation as a result of the successive disasters that the country has been exposed to. He pointed out the importance of lifting restrictions and facilitating financial transfers to humanitarian organizations and the need to focus on supporting the capabilities of the local community and local institutions, especially the ARCS.

The speakers discussed the latest developments in the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the latest statistics related to the extent of the damage and the long-term needs of the Afghan people, especially the health sector, as the number of health centers threatened with closure due to limited funding and support has reached 81 centers that provide health services to millions of patients, while 150,000 refugees, who recently returned to Afghanistan, are facing tragic conditions.

The two-day partnership meetings and roundtable sessions saw the participation of HE Director of Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shaheen bin Ali Al Kaabi, HE As
ia Pacific Director of the IFRC Alexander Matheou, Representative of the ICRC and Deputy Regional Director Pablo Percelsi, HE Acting President of the ARCS Maulvi Matiul Haq Khalis, along with representatives of national societies in Qatar, Afghanistan, and a number of countries, representatives of a number of diplomatic missions in the country, and international specialists in the humanitarian field.

The partnership meetings and roundtable sessions are not the first of their kind, as Doha previously hosted similar meetings in 2022, which yielded tangible positive results that led to tangible progress in the field of humanitarian work provided to those affected in Afghanistan.

The QRCS has had a strategic partnership with its Afghan counterpart since 2014, during which it implemented 54 projects in the sectors of emergency relief, shelter, water and sanitation, health, livelihood, and food security to meet the needs of the population in various states and regions burdened by crises and disasters, as the numb
er of beneficiaries of these projects reached 1.3 million people.

Source: Qatar News Agency