U.N. aid chief to visit Afghanistan over female aid worker ban

FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, the under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, briefs reporters on the famine and humanitarian situation in Mogadishu, Somalia, September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks and seek to meet the highest possible officials within the Taliban-led administration after it banned female aid workers, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday.

"We regret to see that there is already an impact of this decision on our programs," Ramiz Alakbarov, U.N. aid coordinator in Afghanistan, told reporters in New York after the United Nations said that some "time-critical" programs had temporarily stopped and other activities will also likely be paused.