Aid organizations warn of a humanitarian catastrophe. Almost half of the population lives on less than one meal a day.
After a year of Taliban rule, there is a famine in Afghanistan. The aid organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported this on Monday and warned: The current crisis could cost more people their lives in Afghanistan than the last 20 years of war. “43% of the Afghan population live on less than one meal a day,” according to the IRC. According to the IRC, female-headed households are particularly affected.
The Red Cross is also pushing for help for the country. Aid organizations alone cannot replace public institutions in a country of 40 million people, said ICRC Director-General Robert Mardini. Donors who withdrew from Afghanistan after the change in power should continue to help. Many Afghans are already in an unbearable situation, which poses risks to the country’s stability. “In our experience, poverty is a recipe for tension,” Mardini continued.
20 years after Western troops invaded Afghanistan, the Islamic militant Taliban took power in the country again in August 2021. According to experts, one of the main reasons for the rapid collapse of the Afghan government is war crimes against the civilian population, as well as corruption in the Afghan army and political elite, which is supported by the West.
economic collapse
The price is high for the people of Afghanistan, as the IRC points out: “Cuts in aid funding combined with asset freezes and the collapse of the banking sector led to an economic collapse.” The Afghan economy also suffered heavy losses as the Taliban closed many professions to Afghan women.
According to the IRC, civil engagement is also suffering severely. 77% of women-led civil society organizations lost their funding in the last 12 months and had to stop their activities as a result. Women-led civil society organizations in particular must have access to funding, the IRC demands.
(APA/dpa)