UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene in Geneva a high-level ministerial conference on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan on September 13, his spokesman said on Friday.

The conference will seek a swift scale-up in funding so that the life-saving humanitarian operation can continue, and appeal for full and unimpeded humanitarian access to make sure Afghans continue to get the essential services they need, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

Afghanistan faces a looming humanitarian catastrophe. Nearly half of Afghanistan's 38-million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. One in three Afghans does not know where the next meal will come from. Nearly half of all children aged under five are predicted to be acutely malnourished in the next 12 months, said the statement.