Afghans At Grave Risk As UN Food Agency Cuts Rations
- By Reuters
The UN World Food Program (WFP) cut rations for another 2 million Afghans this month and is warning of a "catastrophic" winter if funding runs out, with little food for remote communities. With the cut in aid and a drop in his earnings, one father is worried about feeding his five children.
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Baba Karim pushes his wheelbarrow in Kabul on September 3. The 45-year-old is one of the estimated 36 million Afghans -- around 90 percent of the population -- who are in need of food assistance.
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Karim stands ready with his wheelbarrow. Before the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, Karim made up to $5.50 a day ferrying items from the bazaar. Now he is lucky if he makes $2.
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Karim turns on the television in his sparsely furnished home in Kabul, where he lives with his five children, three of whom are disabled. Handouts from the World Food Program (WFP) have been crucial for his family.
"I'm so worried about what will happen next," he said.
"I'm so worried about what will happen next," he said.
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Karim's son Rahmat looks out of the window of their home.
With WFP funding for food and cash assistance expected to run out by the end of October, the agency has had to steadily cut assistance to those who are the most in need, such as the Karim family.
With WFP funding for food and cash assistance expected to run out by the end of October, the agency has had to steadily cut assistance to those who are the most in need, such as the Karim family.
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Karim walks with his son. "The WFP helped us twice. Both times they gave me $48 in cash. The amount wasn’t sufficient, but anyway, it was fair enough," he said.
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Shakiba, Karim's daughter, looks out of the window of her home. Like many Afghan families, she and her siblings face a bleak future.
Nearly 20 percent of the people the WFP assists are households headed by women, and these homes are become increasingly desperate as a result of the economic crisis and restrictions placed on women by the hard-line Taliban.
Nearly 20 percent of the people the WFP assists are households headed by women, and these homes are become increasingly desperate as a result of the economic crisis and restrictions placed on women by the hard-line Taliban.
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A backpack with a UNICEF logo hangs in the Karim home.
About three-quarters of Afghanistan's people are in need of humanitarian aid as their country emerges from decades of conflict under an internationally isolated Taliban administration. Restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women have also put off donors, many of whom have turned their attention to other humanitarian crises.
About three-quarters of Afghanistan's people are in need of humanitarian aid as their country emerges from decades of conflict under an internationally isolated Taliban administration. Restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women have also put off donors, many of whom have turned their attention to other humanitarian crises.
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"I lie awake all night and worry about the future of my children," Karim said.
The WFP needs $1 billion in funding to provide enough cash for aid and projects from now until next March. It says that if no funding comes through, 90 percent of remote areas in need will be cut off without food and even in accessible locations, people will get no supplies during the harsh winter.
The WFP needs $1 billion in funding to provide enough cash for aid and projects from now until next March. It says that if no funding comes through, 90 percent of remote areas in need will be cut off without food and even in accessible locations, people will get no supplies during the harsh winter.
