UN struggles to provide rations to millions in Afghanistan as funds dwindle
Afghanistan women - AFP/FILE
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it has been forced to reduce rations to four million Afghans in March due to a lack of funding.
In a statement on Friday, the WFP said it needs $93 million to reach 13 million people in Afghanistan in April.
Since the Taliban took control in 2021, Afghanistan has experienced an economic downturn, with foreign governments cutting development aid and imposing sanctions on the banking sector.
Moreover, certain UN officials have expressed worries that international donors will decrease the country’s large-scale humanitarian aid following a series of restrictive measures put in place by the Taliban government last year, including preventing most female Afghan non-government organisation staff from working in December.
The cause of the WFP’s funding shortfall in March is currently unknown. This reduction of rations comes at the close of a particularly harsh and deadly winter when many families have depleted their food supplies, and before the upcoming harvest season around May. The UN estimated that approximately 90% of Afghans are unable to buy enough food.
