The Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan in August sucked billions of dollars in international aid out of the country, sending an already impoverished country plagued by conflict, drought, and floods into a humanitarian disaster.
In recent weeks, it has been the brutal winter cold that has been wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable, prompting foreign aid organisations to scramble to save millions from starvation or freezing due to a lack of food and fuel. For the poorest, the only source of heat or cooking is coal or wood scavenged from the cold streets or provided by humanitarian organisations.
Shelley Thakral, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program in Afghanistan, said, “The degree of the crisis presently in Afghanistan for civilians is terrible.” “We’re referring to this as a race against the clock.” We need to reach out to families who live in remote, difficult-to-reach locations. It’s winter, it’s chilly outside, and there’s snow.”
The humanitarian effort has a colossal price tag. According to Thakral, the WFP alone will require $2.6 billion this year.
“Cut that number in half. That’s $220 million every month, or 30 cents per person per day, and that’s what we’re requesting. “We need the money because we need to reach out to folks as soon as possible,” she explained.
The United Nations launched its largest single-country plea for more than $5 billion earlier this month to aid a devastated Afghanistan.
It is estimated that 90 percent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people rely on aid and the United Nations. According to the UN, approximately 3 million people have been displaced within their own country due to drought, war, and starvation.
700,000 Afghans were displaced in 2020 alone, many of them were forced to live in deplorable conditions on the fringes of cities, in parks and open spaces, and wherever else they could create a makeshift shelter.
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