This month’s meeting in Islamabad of foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation created a viable mechanism to ameliorate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

A humanitarian trust fund will start channelling financial support through the Islamic Development Bank from March, an emergency food program comes into action instantly, and a special envoy is appointed to coordinate humanitarian and political affairs with the Taliban regime.

These tangible steps were urgently needed, as the Afghan humanitarian situation has consistently deteriorated since the Taliban takeover in August and the onset of winter. The UN Food Program estimates that nearly half the population faces acute food insecurity, and the UN Development Program forecasts that 97 percent of Afghans could plunge into poverty by the middle of next year.