KABUL (SW) – As the weather turns colder, vulnerable people in Kabul and several provinces are reporting that they are unable to afford basic needs of life like food and fuel.
Nazo, a resident of Ghazni, says she has not been able to prepare for the coming winter. She adds: “We have nothing. I work all day, and it’s difficult to provide for my children. Winter is coming, and it’s worrying us.”
Abdul Kabir, a resident of Ghor and head of a family of seven, shares that he has had to send his children to work on the streets to meet the family’s needs. “I am paralyzed and cannot work. I pulled my 14-year-old son out of school, and he now sells vegetables at a crossroads. He makes 100 afghanis a day, but it’s not enough to buy fuel for the winter.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that 23.7 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance, including 9.2 million children.
In a statement on its website on Wednesday, OCHA noted that food insecurity, malnutrition, natural disasters, internal displacement, the spread of infectious diseases, and restrictions on women’s freedoms are all exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Abdullah, a 13-year-old street vendor in Kabul, says he works hard to help ease the burden on his family. “I work from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., selling small items. My father works in construction and earns nearly 400 afghanis a day, but that’s not enough to meet the family’s needs, so I work too.”
Previously, OCHA had stated that only 20% of the necessary funding for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan has been secured, while the organization requires more than $3 billion to provide adequate assistance.
