The United Nations said on Thursday it had launched the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund to avert a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse after a power grab by the Taliban last August.

The UN Development Programme launched a new crisis response initiative as part of a comprehensive response to prevent humanitarian disasters and economic devastation.

"The country needs immediate humanitarian assistance, but we also need to keep the local economy running," U.N. Development Programme Agency chief executive Achim Steiner told a U.N. news conference in Geneva.

"It's important to make sure that people still have a livelihood and feel they have a future in their communities," Steiner said.

According to the agency, all aid provided will be delivered to Afghanistan directly, based on impartial assessments conducted with local community leaders and independently of Taliban authorities.

The program will provide its input by supporting the most vulnerable populations and undermining micro-businesses in Afghanistan.

Steiner said the initiative will channel funds into community activities and provide grants to support small and micro businesses, especially those owned by women.

The program supports cash-for-work projects that offer short-term income to the unemployed to restore small local infrastructure. The fund will support the disabled, elderly and the most vulnerable through a temporary basic income.

The scheme will help strengthen the alleviation and resilience of natural disasters, such as through canal rehabilitation and flood protection to protect farmland.