Afghanistan facing severe food crisis, says UN food agency

World Food Programme (WFP), the food-assistance branch of the United Nations, has warned that about 14 million people in Afghanistan are facing severe hunger after the Taliban coup, Associated Press reported. Afghanistan is already going through a humanitarian crisis with mass evacuation and instances of violence as the terrorist group, the Taliban, assumed control of the war-torn country last week.

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Mary Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Program’s country director, while addressing the UN correspondents from Kabul on Wednesday said that the conflict in Afghanistan, the nation’s second severe drought in three years, and the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed an already dire situation into a “catastrophe.”

McGroarty added that over 40% of the total crop developed in Afghanistan has been lost and devasted by the drought. She also emphasized on the need of getting the food where it’s most needed in the country by highlighting that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced as the Taliban advanced, and winter is fast approaching

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According to World Food Programme (WFP), 14 million Afghans do not know where or when their next meal will come from.

To meet the dire shortage of food for the already miserable population, McGroarty urged the donors to provide the $200 million needed to get food into the country so it can get to communities before winter sets in and roads are blocked.

Recently, short video clips of Afghan people carrying flour bags and oil were released. It was said that the staple material was provided by the United Nations as the situation continues to worsen in the country.

According to the WFP director, UN agency has successfully provided food-related help to 4 million people in May and plans to scale up to reach 9 million ‘over the next couple of months, but there are many, many challenges.

(With inputs from Associated Press)