Humanitarian support 'Band-Aid' for unresolved Afghanistan conflict, officials say

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's continued descent into crisis is forcing the country to increasingly rely on humanitarian aid that can only provide short-term relief while leaving the underlying problems unsolved, international officials acknowledged on Saturday, even as they launched a request for $550 million (£444.4 million) in new funding.

Amid rising violence, economic stagnation, and social upheaval, the United Nations estimates at least 9.3 million Afghans, or nearly a third of the population, will need humanitarian assistance in 2017, a 13 percent increase from last year.