KABUL (SW) – Needy Afghans in various parts of the war-ravaged country have reached a tipping out amid the harsh winter, warned the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan.
UNOCHA said in a statement that Afghan families are already experiencing freezing temperatures with early snows having arrived. It said 24.4 million people live in desperate conditions.
According to the UNOCHA, with prices of goods rising, these people have reached a tipping point and urgently need aid such as warm clothing, shelter and cash for heating
A day earlier, a new World Bank survey stated that living conditions remain difficult for Afghan families as two-thirds of households in the country continue to struggle to meet basic food and non-food needs..
Conducted between June and August 2022, the second Afghanistan Welfare Monitoring Survey assesses changes in basic living conditions in Afghanistan one year after the onset of the political crisis.
Overall, the survey paints a grim picture of living conditions in Afghanistan as widespread deprivation continues and food insecurity remains high, negatively impacting the economy and the welfare of the Afghan people, especially women and girls. The first round of the survey was conducted from October to December 2021.
“It is deeply concerning to see that a majority of Afghan households continue to face enormous economic difficulties and that access to education—especially for girls—remains severely constrained,” said Melinda Good, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan.
“There is an urgent need for the interim Taliban administration to take tangible steps to improve food security and livelihoods, maintain basic health services, and ensure that the private sector can play a role to create jobs for the many Afghans, particularly young people, who are unemployed. Without this, the welfare of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, remains at risk.”
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