KABUL (Pajhwok): Nearly 16 million people in Afghanistan are facing acute food insecurity, underscoring the need for continued humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said.
According to remarks delivered by OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko at a UN press briefing on Tuesday, 20 October, from Kabul, Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly concerning as winter approaches.
Cherevko said 15.9 million people, nearly one-third of Afghanistan’s population, faced acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse in September and October this year.
She added that more than four million children aged between six months and five years in Afghanistan were projected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2027.
Referring to her recent visits to southern and north-eastern Afghanistan, Cherevko said the food crisis was not simply a matter of food shortages. Poverty, insufficient income and limited access to basic services were also major contributing factors.
She said that although favourable rainfall and increased agricultural production had helped improve the situation, one good harvest could not compensate for the damage caused by several years of drought.
Food was available in Afghan markets, she added, but millions of people could not afford to buy it because of economic hardship.
Cherevko also expressed concern about the impact of restrictions on education and employment for women and girls in Afghanistan.
She stressed that malnutrition was not caused solely by a lack of food, but was also influenced by maternal health, access to healthcare, dietary diversity, education and income-generating opportunities.
Emphasising the need for continued humanitarian assistance, she said Afghanistan required not only emergency aid but also sustained investment in agriculture, rural livelihoods, local markets, employment, water systems, healthcare and nutrition services.
She also called for greater opportunities for women to participate in economic life.
The OCHA spokesperson warned that humanitarian organisations needed to act before winter arrived, rather than waiting until families had exhausted their means of survival.
She concluded that humanitarian assistance could save lives, but only sustained and inclusive investment in livelihoods, basic services and economic opportunities could reduce Afghans’ dependence on emergency aid.
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