Taliban rule in Afghanistan has escalated levels of poverty and unemployment in the war-ravaged country, resulting in the lives of Afghans becoming “unbearably hard,” the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement.
Highlighting the country’s food insecurity, the World Food Programme tweeted on Wednesday and stated that the majority of the population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, Khaama Press reported. “Over half of the population of Afghanistan is suffering from hunger and immediately needs assistance,” WFP said, adding that it has supported over 10 million women through livelihood support and capital creation. Furthermore, according to UN reports, Afghanistan’s poverty rate has risen to 97 percent, and nine out of ten people cannot afford enough food, according to Khaama Press.
The WFP estimated that nearly 19 million Afghans faced food insecurity on World Food Day, which was observed on 16 October. Amid the Ukraine war, the WFP has called for USD 1.1 billion to continue delivering monthly food and nutritional assistance for the next six months to 15 million acutely food-insecure people in Afghanistan. The WFP and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan condemned the ongoing economic crisis in the country as people in the country are on the brink of starvation and facing poverty. In a tweet, UNOCHA in Afghanistan wrote, “19 M people are facing food insecurity. 25 M people are living in poverty. 5.8 M people are in protracted internal displacement. Thousands of houses have been damaged by floods and earthquakes,” expressing concerns about the plight of Afghans. “To survive the winter, they require food, nutrition support, warm clothing and a roof over their heads,” tweeted UNOCHA.
Meanwhile, the WFP has also raised concerns about the economic crisis in Afghanistan. “The economic crisis wiped out jobs, salaries & livelihoods across Afghanistan. Helping families & communities support themselves is more important than ever,” wrote WFP on Twitter.