GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. officials appealed for $800 million to fill a chronic funding gap for Afghanistan on Friday, with a senior aid official describing the situation as "catastrophic" with at least one third of people expected to be facing hunger.

       "Humanitarian needs are catastrophic, are at large-scale and are increasing," Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a virtual briefing. "These humanitarian needs are coming from decades of conflict, compounded by drought and COVID-19."

       The U.N. has appealed for $1.3 billion to reach 16 million people in Afghanistan this year, but a $800 million gap remains.

       (Reporting by Emma Farge and Stephanie Nebehay)