TEHRAN, May 22 (MNA) – The head of the UN World Food Programme in Afghanistan attached great importance to the special position of Iran in transferring humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.

Hsiao-Wei Lee, the head of the UN World Food Programme in Afghanistan met and held talks with Hassan Mortazavi, Iran's deputy ambassador in Kabul.

Referring to the special position and importance of Iran in the region, the UN official called for the deepening of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and WFP in transferring India's humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through the Chabahar and the Khaf-Roznak railway.

The UNICEF representative in Afghanistan estimates that 28 million people in Afghanistan, including 15 million children, need humanitarian aid and protective support.

Earlier in January, the World Food Programme underlined that an estimated 875,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2023 in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported.

The WFP report also stated that 2.3 million children as well as 840,000 women are also on the verge of suffering from moderate acute malnutrition.

The economic and political situation of Afghanistan has only gone worse since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August of 2021.

Afghanistan is currently grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world.

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