17 million Afghans face hunger: UN warns of a catastrophic winter
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) issued an urgent warning today, revealing alarming figures regarding the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The WFP confirmed that more than 17 million people are facing the risk of "acute food insecurity" this winter. This represents a worrying increase of over 3 million people compared to last year, signaling an imminent humanitarian catastrophe unless immediate action is taken.
Deteriorating living conditions and a struggle for survival
In a press statement, John Aleve, the program director in Afghanistan, painted a grim picture of the situation on the ground, saying, "Our teams are reporting families who go days without food and are forced to take drastic measures to survive." He noted the rising death rates among children due to malnutrition, warning that the worst is yet to come and that the situation is likely to worsen dramatically in the coming months as the weather gets colder.
Background to the crisis: a collapsing economy and natural disasters
This UN warning cannot be separated from the broader context of Afghanistan since the major political changes of August 2021. The freezing of foreign assets and the suspension of international development aid have led to widespread economic collapse, causing a severe liquidity crisis and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. “Afghanistan is bracing for a harsh winter amid multiple crises,” explained Elif, noting that the drought, now in its third year, has affected half the country, devastating crops upon which the vast majority of the population depends for their livelihoods.
In addition to the economic and climate crisis, natural disasters have further complicated the situation, with recent earthquakes in Herat province and other areas destroying thousands of homes and displacing families, exacerbating humanitarian needs at a time when the country lacks the necessary infrastructure to respond to emergencies.
International attention dwindles: A forgotten crisis
At a crucial point, the UN official drew attention to the dilemma of "declining international attention," noting that despite the gravity of the situation, global discourse on providing aid to Afghanistan is waning as the world becomes preoccupied with other crises and conflicts. Elif stated bluntly: "We urgently need to bring the Afghan crisis back to the forefront of global attention, to give the most vulnerable and affected people the right to life and the attention they deserve.".
International reports indicate that funding shortages threaten to cut off food aid to millions of beneficiaries, placing the international community under a moral responsibility to prevent widespread famine in this war-torn and disaster-stricken country.
