The UN urgently demands 800 million dollars to alleviate the food crisis in Afghanistan

March 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has estimated this Friday the “emergency funds” to counter the food crisis in Afghanistan, exacerbated after the Taliban came to power in August 2021, at 800 million dollars for the next six months.

“Catastrophic famine could spread across Afghanistan and unless humanitarian support is sustained, hundreds of thousands more will need assistance to survive,” the WFP warned.

The United Nations agency has warned that due to funding limitations, at least four million people in Afghanistan will only be able to receive half of what they need to survive in March.

“Their food reserves have been depleted before the next harvest in May, this is traditionally the most difficult time of the year for rural families,” due in large part to severe frosts, the WFP notes. “Subzero temperatures and economic hardship drive millions into despair,” he laments.

For this reason, the WFP has claimed 800 million dollars for the next six months, of which 93 million dollars will be allocated to help thirteen million people in March alone. Despite “record amounts” received in 2022, the funds will now run out in March and April.

Afghanistan is under its highest famine risk in a quarter century, with half of all families trying to weather the crisis to survive. For millions of Afghans, WFP food aid is their last lifeline, says this United Nations office.

Since August 2022, nine out of ten Afghan families cannot afford the price of food, it is the worst statistic in the world. Nearly 20 million Afghans don’t know where their next meal will come from, and six million of them are one step away from famine.

In addition, the levels of moderate acute malnutrition are the highest ever recorded in the country. Two thirds of the population — more than 28 million people — need humanitarian assistance in 2023, almost triple the number in 2021.