Kabul, May 12 (IANS) The United Nations has stated that hunger and food security are deteriorating in Afghanistan, with women and children facing the most consequences amid economic and humanitarian challenges, local media reported on Tuesday.
The UN agencies said that Afghanistan continue to face problems due to overlapping crises, including economic collapse, unemployment and climate-related shocks that have impacted livelihoods across the country. Increasing regional tensions have caused an increase in food prices, placing additional pressure on vulnerable people, Afghanistan-based Ariana News reported.
The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) stated that continuous funding cuts have reduced supplies of specialised nutritional food needed for the treatment of malnourished women and children. Millions of children face the risk of severe hunger, resulting in humanitarian organisations calling for sustained international support to prevent the situation from worsening further.
On Monday, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that around 2,000 families have been affected by the recent floods in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
The IOM said emergency relief items have been given to impacted families as humanitarian teams continued assessing urgent needs in flood-affected people, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.
The agency said many people lost homes, agricultural land and household property after flooding in Nangarhar, deteriorating humanitarian challenges faced by the vulnerable families of the province.
The IOM stated that additional humanitarian assistance is planned for at least 250 additional families in Nangarhar as recovery and emergency operations are underway in impacted regions.
According to the organisation, similar aid operations are being conducted in Laghman and Kunar, where recent flooding has caused damage to residents and infrastructure.
Humanitarian agencies said extreme weather conditions, including floods, harsh winters and droughts, have impacted Afghanistan in recent years, putting additional pressure on millions of people already struggling with poverty and displacement, Khaama Press reported.
–IANS
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