The Humanitarian Catastrophe in Afghanistan: How to Effectively Send Relief
Afghanistan is facing an increased rate of poverty, starvation, malnourishment, and unemployment. According to a United Nations report published in October 2021, “Afghanistan’s combined shocks of drought, violence, the coronavirus pandemic, and an economic catastrophe have left more than half of the population facing a record level of acute famine.”[1] This paper explores how international humanitarian aid can save the lives of millions of starving Afghans and suggests ways to send relief to Afghanistan.
Among the causes that have amplified the level of poverty in Afghanistan after the fall of the republican government, it is fair to mention the dependency of the Afghan economy on international and local humanitarian aid. Throughout the now-collapsed, Western-backed government driven by Ashraf Ghani, 43% of Afghanistan’s GDP came from outside help, according to the World Bank. Almost 75% of open investing was supported by remote grants. Ninety (90) percent of Afghans lived on a salary of less than $2 a day, and an estimated 18.4 million individuals — about half the country’s population needed humanitarian assistance (World Bank 2021).[2]
The collapse of domestic banks and the freezing of Afghan bank accounts abroad is another cause of the increase in poverty in Afghanistan. The United States circumscribed access to billions of dollars in Afghan central bank reserves held in the U.S.A right after its troops’ withdrawal. On Aug. 17, the European Union suspended development funding long-term aid that supported projects in healthcare, education, agriculture, and law enforcement, even though they said they would maintain humanitarian aid.[3]
The non-recognition of the Taliban government in Afghanistan as an acceptable administration with inclusive structures has led to the cessation of many international funds after the fall of the country. No country has formally acknowledged the Taliban government since the insurgents took over Afghanistan in August.
According to the World Food Program, “acute malnutrition in 25 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces is above the emergency threshold and is expected to worsen”. Today, increasing poverty has boosted the market for the trafficking and sale of children, especially girls, in Afghanistan. We have received credible reports that some Afghan families have even given up their 20-day-old daughters for forced future marriages in exchange for money. UNICEF Executive Director Henry Nafor said in a new statement. “The problems of poverty and disease have multiplied with the fall of the previous government, and women in Afghanistan have become more unemployed than men”. [4]
The closure of public and private institutions, the non-payment of salaries to government employees, and the flight of capital abroad are phenomena that have exacerbated poverty in Afghanistan today. The freezing of the central bank’s reserves abroad has also increased the economic problems of the people in Afghanistan. In general, it can be said that poverty in Afghanistan today puts the lives of more than half of the population at risk of food insecurity, and if the international community does not pay serious attention to get out of this problem in Afghanistan, the crisis will intensify and by mid-2022 it will be possible that 97 percent of the population will live below the poverty line.[5]
The international community can send relief and prevent an entire nation from starvation through the following imperatives:
1: Support women-led initiatives for women in Afghanistan that provide them with working and learning opportunities and eliminate any restrictions on their income-generating activities.
2: Help poor families and individuals across the country with the support of moderate humanitarian organizations inside and outside Afghanistan.
3: Form specific strategic programs solely for providing employment opportunities and assistance for internally displaced persons (IDPs) displaced by war and conflict and those who are currently struggling with poor economic conditions.
3: Establish specific, thorough, and cost-effective efforts to combat micronutrient deficiency.
Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation was already the worst in the world before the events of August 15. By the end of 2021, nearly half of the population (approximately 18.4 million individuals) needed emergency and protective assistance. Malnutrition was at a crisis or emergency level for one out of every three Afghans, and more than half of all children under the age of five were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition. By 2022, it is expected that Afghanistan will have reached global poverty (with 97 percent of Afghans living below the poverty line). In the first three months of 2022, more than 13,700 children have already died in Afghanistan.[6]
While the World Food Program, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Aga Khan Development Network have all increased their humanitarian assistance in the last couple of months, many activities require multiple rounds of assistance and ongoing financial support. The international community can offer long-term aid and save an entire nation from famine and poverty by doing the following: providing grants for women initiatives, supporting moderate
humanitarian organizations to provide aid to needed people, combat micronutrient deficiency, create job opportunities, and help displaced families.
[1] United Nations. (n.d.). Afghanistan on ‘countdown to catastrophe’ without urgent humanitarian relief | | UN news. United Nations. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103932
[2] Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). ‘brink of collapse’: How frozen assets & halted foreign aid are impacting the Afghan people. PBS. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/taliban-takeover-how-frozen-assets-foreign-aid-impacts-afghanistan/
[3] Id.
[4] Overview. World Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/afghanistan/overview
[5] 97 percent of Afghans could plunge into poverty by mid 2022, says UNDP: United Nations Development Programme. UNDP. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.undp.org/press-releases/97-percent-afghans-could-plunge-poverty-mid-2022-says-undp