The leaders of Taliban militants want UN workers to stay in the country, Richard Brennan, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Tuesday in Cairo.

“They made it clear that the UN must stay,” Brennan said, adding that high-level negotiations over the future of UN aid and health workers were underway.

The WHO website states that “health workers have been called upon to return / stay in their posts, including female health workers. However, some female health workers are not returning to their posts – and some have resigned from their posts – due to continued insecurity. “

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.

The Taliban’s seizure of power just over a week ago has severely affected the work of aid workers in Afghanistan. Some 500 tonnes of pharmaceuticals cannot be delivered because commercial flights are currently not allowed to land in Afghanistan.

Even before the current crisis, Afghanistan was the third largest humanitarian disaster in the world, according to the UN. Some 18 million people – about half of the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance. The coronavirus pandemic has made matters worse.