MONITORING (SW) – The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, has said that by the middle of this year, 900,000 people in Afghanistan will lose their jobs.
According to the State Department’s Humanitarian Information Unit, “since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, humanitarian conditions have deteriorated with over 24.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan—an increase from 18.4 million in 2021. An estimated 22.8 million people need emergency food assistance—more than doubling the March–May 2021 projections. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) increased from 670,000 in early August 2021 to 710,000 by the end of the year.”
Over the coming six months, humanitarian organizations project increases in severe food insecurity, drought, waterborne disease outbreaks, and a marked deterioration of conditions in urban areas. The onset of spring traditionally brings relief from food shortages; however, with Afghanistan in the grips of the worst drought in three decades, below average winter precipitation means the spring harvest is unlikely to improve food security for vulnerable families.
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