Afghanistan

[Schneemann]

Afghans facing 'hell on earth' as winter looms

This is a country which is starting to feel the very real fear of hunger.

The weather is turning from early autumn warmth to a sharp chill. Several areas are reporting drought, which adds to the sense of growing catastrophe. At Maidan Wardak, 50 miles west of Kabul, a crowd of several hundred men had gathered in the hope of getting flour from an official distribution point. The flour was provided by the World Food Programme. Taliban soldiers kept the crowd reasonably quiet, but people who were told they weren't eligible for a hand-out were angry and frightened. [...]

The WFP is faced with having to raise its supplies to Afghanistan to help more than 22 million people. If the weather is as bad as experts are predicting this winter, the expectation is that large numbers will be threatened with acute hunger and widespread famine. [...] "Ninety-five percent of the people don't have enough food, and now we're looking at 23 million people marching towards starvation," he [executive director of the WFP, David Beasley] added. "The next six months are going to be catastrophic. It is going to be hell on Earth." [...]

Before the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August, there was confidence that the government of President Ashraf Ghani would be able to cope with the threat of a bad winter, given the help of the international community. That help evaporated when Mr Ghani's government collapsed. Western countries have cut off their aid to the country, since they don't want to be seen to help a regime which bars girls from education and is in favour of reintroducing the full range of sharia punishments.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59202880

Schneemann