Food insecurity in all 34 provinces across Afghanistan

KABUL (SW) – The World Food Program has said residents in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan are facing food insecurity.

According to the WFP, at least 18.9 million people, which constitute nearly half of Afghanistan’s population, are likely to seriously face food insecurity between the months of June and November 2022.

Based on World Food Program statistics, the lack of food security in Afghanistan has put 4.7 million children and lactating women at risk of malnutrition.

Wahidullah Amani, the head of the World Food Program’s media department in Afghanistan, said in an interview with Salam Watandar that this organization plans to provide food aid to 23 million people in Afghanistan in 2022.

According to Amani, the World Food Program is focused on delivering its aid to the remote areas of the country before the transportation routes of these areas are closed in the winter.

He added that they need 170 million dollars to deliver their aid to vulnerable people in Afghanistan.

The head of the media department of the World Food Program in Afghanistan emphasized that they are worried about the upcoming winter so that more citizens will face food insecurity.

A humanitarian crisis of incredible proportions has grown even more complex and severe since the Taliban took control, said the WFP. Job losses, lack of cash and soaring prices are creating a new class of hungry in Afghanistan. 22.8 million Afghans – or more than half the population–  are not consuming enough food.

The country is on the brink of economic collapse, with the local currency at an all-time low and food prices on the rise.

Acute malnutrition is above emergency thresholds in 25 out of 34 provinces, and is expected to worsen, with almost half of children under 5 and a quarter of pregnant and breastfeeding women needing life-saving nutrition support in the next 12 months.

As winter approaches, getting food into the country and prepositioning it at strategic locations is now the most urgent task for WFP. Once the snow sets in, roads will be cut off and communities stranded. This lean season, WFP food assistance will be the only lifeline for many Afghan families.

The international community needs to step up to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. WFP urgently needs US$220 million a month to help people in need in Afghanistan.

ENDS

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