Afghanistan faces acute water crisis: UNDP

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted Afghanistan's severe water crisis, noting nearly 80 percent of the population lacks sufficient access to drinking water.

On the World Water Day, the UN agency emphasised almost 79 percent of Afghans faced inadequate access to water resources.

The organisation attributed the crisis to severe drought conditions, economic instability and the destructive impact of long-term conflicts on Afghanistan's water infrastructure.

Climate change exacerbates the challenge, with 67 percent of Afghan families affected by drought-related issues and an additional 16 percent grappling with floods.

The UNDP underscored how climate change intensified droughts and floods, posing a threat to Afghanistan’s agricultural communities.

To address the issues, UNDP said, it had undertaken initiatives such as constructing or rehabilitating over 824 kilometres of irrigation canals, thereby facilitating the irrigation of more than 17,000 hectares of agricultural land.

sa/mud