Kabul – The World Food Program (WFP) has expressed concern about the economic situation in Afghanistan, saying that drought and recent wars are shaping the poverty tsunami in Afghanistan.
According to plans, the WFP plans to provide food aid to about 23 million Afghan citizens by 2022.
In an interview with the media on Sunday, December 12, the representative of the WFP for Afghanistan, Mary-Ellen McGroarty, stated that this work requires a monthly budget of 220 million dollars.
In addition, WFP estimates that next year, an average of $110 should be allocated to each needy citizen to feed this number of citizens, she added.
The representative of the WFP for Afghanistan stated that talks are underway with the donors of this organization in order to provide the necessary funds to feed these people.
“I traveled across Afghanistan last month and saw the food condition and deteriorating children’s food health,” she said.
According to the WFP envoy in Afghanistan, the effects of the drought of recent years and the aftermath of the wars are fading into a tsunami of poverty in the country.
There are currently 22.8 million people in Afghanistan in severe food insecurity, and 8.7 per cent of them are just one step away from famine, she stated.
According to McGroarty, 3.2 million children are diagnosed with malnutrition by 2021.
The number of children with malnutrition doubles with each passing week, she added.
In the meantime, she described the children as lucky people because, according to McGroarty, they have access to at least a hospital or health center.
Meanwhile, Mary-Ellen expressed concern about the chaotic situation in some provinces.
“After traveling to nine provinces, I have seen hunger, helplessness, and poverty on the faces of men who have lost their products or jobs,” she said.
According to McGroarty, women gathered around her during the trip, telling her they had no money, did not know what to feed their children, and how to survive the winter.
However, the WFP representative in Afghanistan has pledged that her team will tackle these challenges at an unprecedented level.
“The WFP has sent 200,000 tons of food to Afghanistan across the country, providing food to more than 15.4 million people,” she said.
“The Program is planning to ensure that 23 million people living in poverty are in need of food,” she said.
McGroarty also stressed the need for transparency in the process of distributing food aid, saying that she had hired more people to receive and solve complaints from the public.
On the other hand, she cited the coming winter as one of the main challenges facing the WFP in Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that Afghanistan has faced a socio-economic crisis after the Taliban regained control and imposed restrictions.
Earlier, the United Nations had warned that if the situation in this country is not solved, 97% of Afghans would be living below the poverty line by mid-2022.
