Voicing concern over media's economic challenge post the Taliban took control of Kabul, the Afghanistan Journalists and Media Organizations Federation (AJMOF) said that no media outlet will remain active in the next six months in the country if immediate attention is not paid to the media's financial problems.
The reporters said that they should be aided by the organizations supporting media and journalists at a press conference in Kabul on Monday, reported Tolo News.
AJMOF officials said that the media has become very vulnerable following the political change in the country in mid-August last year, facing financial challenges as well accessing information.
"Today some media outlets are closed, and reporters are unemployed. Some reporters have switched to other jobs, but some have not found any employment opportunities. They are facing problems and cannot feed their families," said Hujatullah Mujaddedi, a member of the federation.
The federation in a statement urged the Taliban to resume the activities of the committee that investigates media-related violations and helps reporters gain access to information, reported Tolo News.
"If the money was managed correctly, today no reporter would be facing economic problems and many outlets would not have ceased operating," Mena Habib, a reporter said urging the organizations supporting journalists, to be honest in working and supporting the reporters.
Meanwhile, the federation officials said that UNAMA in a meeting with them in Kabul has pledged to support media and reporters from the USD 600 million funds that the EU has pledged to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
"In our meeting with UNAMA about three to four months ago on how to enable media outlets to stand on their own feet, UNAMA officials pledged that they will include media and reporters in their list of beneficiaries of the USD 600 million that EU is providing to the people of Afghanistan," said Hafizullah Barakzai, a senior member of the federation.
Media outlets have been facing financial challenges since the fall of the former republic government and hundreds of outlets have been closed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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