Afghanistan to face hunger crisis by end of the month: United Nations

As Afghanistan grapples to restore stability after decades of war, a senior United Nations official warned that the stockpile of food in the country provided by the organisation could run out by the end of this month, pushing the South Asian nation into a hunger crisis.

The U.N.’s humanitarian chief in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said about one-third of the country’s population of 38 million doesn’t know if they will have a meal every day, reported the Associated Press.

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Although the U.N.’s World Food Program has brought in food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people in recent weeks, with winter approaching and a drought ongoing, at least $200 million is needed urgently to be able to continue to feed the most vulnerable Afghans, he opined. 

“By the end of September, the stocks which the World Food Program has in the country will be out,” he told reporters at a virtual news conference. “We will not be able to provide those essential food items because we’ll be out of stocks.”

The warning from the global body comes as the Taliban prepares to form a government following the completion of the withdrawal of US troops.

Earlier, U.N. officials said that of the $1.3 billion needed for overall aid efforts, only 39% has been received.

The Taliban, who took control of the country ahead of the withdrawal of American soldiers this week, now have to rule a country that is highly reliant on international help and is experiencing an economic catastrophe. In addition to food shortages, public employees have not been paid in months, and the local currency is depreciating. The majority of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves are now frozen and stored overseas.

Meanwhile, the Islamist militant group will also face resistance within the Afghan populace, the most significant of which is coming from the Panjshir Valley, when they came to power in the country.