Unprecedented Hunger Hits Afghanistan the Worst: Save the Children – Khaama Press

Amid these challenging times, the people of Afghanistan desperately rely on humanitarian aid facing a catastrophic level of hunger, malnutrition, and food scarcity.

According to the “Save the Children” report Afghanistan is still among the eight most hunger-hit countries including the Central African Republic, DRC, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.  People in these eight countries face an emergency and catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition, between 2019 and 2022.

The number of people facing a severe level of hunger in Afghanistan increased to 6.6 million in 2022 from 2.5 million in 2019.  Child malnutrition has long been a problem in Afghanistan and this year there have been reports of caregivers resorting to desperate coping mechanisms, with some even forced to sell their own children.

“In Afghanistan, we are finding that children are so hungry that they are unable to remember what they have learned at school. As a result of malnutrition, they are also more susceptible to life-threatening diseases such as cholera. We are also seeing a worrying increase in damaging coping mechanisms such as child marriage and child labor. Responding to this rising need is impossible without the full participation of women in the response, and we're extremely worried about these findings in the context of the current suspension of programs.” Save the Children's acting country director in Afghanistan, Nora Hassanien, said.

This comes as Save the Children and several other renowned aid organizations temporarily suspended their much-needed life-saving operations in Afghanistan following the latest announcement by the country's ruling regime baring women employees from working with non-government organizations.

The delivery of live-saving services by female employees of the NGOs to the people of Afghanistan is of paramount importance at this very stage of time, as poverty, hunger, unemployment, and security have further complicated the living conditions for ordinary people.