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UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations and partners are conducting needs assessments while distributing aid across Afghanistan, one of the world's greatest emergencies, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.

In the past seven days, they distributed food aid to about 280,000 people in just four of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Food aid went to people in Badakshan, Baghlan, Takhar, and Parwan provinces.

The office said that this week, cash and winter assistance, household items, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies went to approximately 20,000 people in Ghor, Kabul and Parwan provinces. People receiving aid include internally displaced people and other vulnerable communities.

In the coming days, about 15,000 people, including internally displaced and drought-affected people, returnees, vulnerable host communities, and female, child, elderly and disabled head of households in Badakshan, Baghlan, Balkh and Kunduz provinces will receive humanitarian assistance, OCHA said. That aid includes food and cash.

The UN Afghanistan Flash Appeal identified prioritized needs in the country between September and December 2021 and required $606 million, OCHA said. It is 113 percent funded at 683 million.

The independent UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan launched at the beginning of this year requires $869 million, the office said. It is 84 percent funded at 730 million.

The two appeals complement one another, identifying 18.4 million people in need and targeting 17.7 million people, OCHA said. Humanitarians expect to reach the goal by year-end.

Next year, 24.4 million people will need humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, said the 2022 Global Humanitarian Overview launched in Geneva on Thursday. It identified Afghanistan as "one of the largest emergencies in the world."