UN agencies have warned that Afghanistan, which is in chaos due to the Taliban occupation, will face food shortages starting in September. The World Food Program (WFP), which is in charge of distributing relief supplies to Afghanistan, is temporarily continuing to supply food through land routes to neighboring Afghan countries as general flights at Kabul Airport are completely suspended, but fears that even this amount will be exhausted next month.
According to foreign media such as The Guardian, Andrew Patterson, deputy director for Afghanistan at WFP, said on the 23rd (local time), “We are currently receiving food through neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan. Food will run out in September,” he said.
WHO Afghan Emergency Planner Richard Brennan said in an interview with the press, “The world’s attention is focused on the escape from Afghanistan, but we need supplies to help those left behind.” They stopped by WHO warehouses such as Dubai and urged them to bring supplies.
WFP estimates that up to 20 million Afghan people are in need of food aid. Already before the Taliban occupation, 18.5 million Afghan people, nearly half of the population, depended on aid. The International Red Cross estimated that about 550,000 people were displaced by the Taliban and in need of additional food aid. The two major droughts in Afghanistan over the past three years have also exacerbated the food shortage. UNICEF also issued a statement on the same day, saying, “Currently, about 10 million children across Afghanistan need humanitarian aid to survive. About one million people suffer from severe malnutrition that can lead to death if left untreated.” According to The Guardian, half of Afghan children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition.
Reporter Im Bo-mi bom@donga.com Go to reporter page>
Copyright by dongA.com All rights reserved.
