Donor countries have pledged $2.44 billion towards the United Nations' $4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday after a high-level pledging conference.

Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for donors to provide "unconditional" funding saying that 9 million Afghans faced famine and that families were selling children and organs to survive.

(With input from agencies)