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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Food in Afghanistan could run out this month, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday, threatening to add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the new Taliban leaders in the country. countries as they strive to restore stability after decades of war.
About a third of the country’s 38 million people face “emergency” or “crisis” levels of food insecurity, according to Ramiz Alakbarov, the local United Nations humanitarian coordinator. With the onset of winter and a severe drought underway, more money is needed to feed the population, he said.
The UN World Food Program has brought food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people in recent weeks. But of the $ 1.3 billion needed for aid efforts, only 39% has been received, he said.
“The lean season for winter is fast approaching, and without additional funding, food stocks will be depleted by the end of September,” Alakbarov said.
The Taliban, who took control of the country before the withdrawal of US forces this week, must now rule a nation heavily dependent on international aid and is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis. In addition to concerns about the food supply, officials have not been paid for months and the local currency is losing value. Most of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves are held abroad and currently frozen.
Many Afghans are anxious in the wake of the US withdrawal while waiting to see how the Taliban will rule. When in power, before being driven out by the US-led invasion in 2001, they imposed drastic restrictions, denying girls to school, largely confining women to homes. them and banning television, music and even photography.
But more recently, their leaders have sought to project a more moderate image. Schools have reopened to boys and girls, although Taliban officials said they would study separately. Women are on the streets wearing Islamic headscarves – as they always have – rather than the full burqa that the Taliban demanded in the past.
While many Afghans fear a brutal return to Taliban rule, they also fear that the country’s economic situation will offer them few opportunities – and tens of thousands of people have sought to flee the country. in a heartbreaking airlift.
Thousands of people who worked with the United States and its allies, as well as up to 200 Americans, stayed in the country after the efforts ended, the last US troops left Kabul International Airport just before midnight on Monday. President Joe Biden defended his management of the withdrawal One day later.
The challenges the Taliban face in reviving the economy could give Western countries leverage as they push the group to deliver on its pledge to allow free travel, form an inclusive government, and secure the rights of people. women. The Taliban say they want to have good relations with other countries, including the United States.
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