Geneva, 7 September 2021 (dpa/MIA) - Ahead of a conference on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) made an urgent appeal for more than 600 million dollars in emergency aid for the country. "Basic services in Afghanistan are collapsing and food and other life-saving aid is about to run out," OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said in Geneva on Tuesday. The High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan, which will be chaired by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, is scheduled to take place in Geneva on Monday. The UN is not only hoping for support from donor countries, but hopes also to gain free access for aid workers to get to Afghanistan, which has been controlled by the militant Islamist Taliban since late August. Aid organizations hope that the money raised will prevent almost 11 million people from going hungry this winter. According to Laerke, more than 1 million women and children in Afghanistan are already suffering from acute malnutrition. The money will also be used to maintain medical services, water supplies and sanitation facilities. Protection measures for children and women, emergency shelters and educational projects for children will also be funded.