Afghans face hunger as aid cuts deepen struggles

An ailing economy, droughts, earthquakes and influx of returnees have battered nation.

- BY ABDUL KAHAR AFGHAN

A FAMILY who survived an earthquake in August waits for help in Wadir village in eastern Aghanistan.

(NAVA JAMSHIDI Associated Press)

For 10 hours a day, Rahimullah sells socks from his cart in east Kabul, earning about $4.50 to $6 per day. It's a pittance, but it's all he has to feed his family of five.

Rahimullah, who, like many Afghans, goes by only one name, is one of millions in the country who rely on humanitarian aid, both from the authorities and from international charity organizations, for survival. An estimated 22.9 million people nearly half the population required aid in 2025, the International Committee for the Red Cross said in an article on its website last week.

But severe cuts in international aid including the halting of U.S. aid to programs such as food distribution run by the United Nations' World Food Program have severed this lifeline.

More than 17 million people in Afghanistan now face crisis levels of hunger in the winter, the World Food Program warned last week, 3 million more than were at risk more than a year ago.

The slashing in aid has come as Afghanistan is battered by a struggling economy, recurrent droughts, two deadly earthquakes and the mass influx of Afghan refugees expelled from countries such as Iran and Pakistan. The resulting multiple shocks have severely pressured resources, including housing and food.

U.N. asks for help

Tom Fletcher, the United Nations humanitarian chief, told the Security Council in mid-December that the situation was compounded by "overlapping shocks," including the recent earthquakes and increasing restrictions on humanitarian aid access and staff.