United Nations has launched a 678 million US dollars humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan, saying that about a quarter of the population goes hungry. UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Catherine Bragg said some 74 lakh Afghans are living with hunger and fear of starvation, millions more rely on food help and one in five children die before the age of five. In a statement she said that the toll of the ongoing conflict and endemic natural disasters on Afghanistan’s people remains immense, requiring continued life saving assistance. Bragg, also the UN deputy emergency relief coordinator, said Western nations supporting President Hamid Karzai are pouring vast amounts of aid into Afghanistan, but much of the cash is spent in areas with the worst insurgency problems to show locals that they can reap gains from rejecting the Taliban. The UN official who is on current visit to Afghanistan, urged all parties to the conflict to allow and ensure safe and sustained humanitarian access to civilian populations in need. The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the dire humanitarian situation was likely to deteriorate further unless a political settlement was reached between the government and the Taliban.