United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in an address on Thursday that people in Afghanistan are “selling their children and their body parts” to support their families amid the country’s economic collapse.
“Without immediate action, we face a hunger and malnutrition crisis in Afghanistan,” Guterres said in a speech in New York.
“People are already selling their children and their body parts to feed their families,” he said of the Afghan people, who are struggling as their economy “effectively collapsed” and about 80 percent of the population is in debt.
“This spells disaster for both Afghans struggling to feed their families and our relief efforts,” he added, citing rising food prices around the world as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The secretary-general also referred to a previous warning from the United Nations that 97 percent of people in the country could be living below the poverty line by mid-2022. “Unfortunately, that number is being reached faster than expected,” he said.
After Kabul was taken by the Taliban in August, the United Nations warned in September that millions of Afghans were at risk of starvation.
Now the need for humanitarian assistance has tripled since June – just before the takeover – and is increasing “day by day and month by month,” Guterres said in his speech on Thursday.
The UN leader also called for $4.4 billion to fund Afghanistan.
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Earlier this month, Taliban leaders in Afghanistan closed secondary schools for girls, claiming they would reopen if there is a plan compatible with Islamic law.
Guterres also condemned the move Thursday, saying, “Supporting the rights of Afghan women is support that lifts children out of hunger and communities out of poverty.”
“There is simply no justification for such discrimination,” he added.
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