Some 10 million children in war-ravaged Afghanistan are at risk of not having enough food to eat in 2021, a humanitarian organization said Tuesday, and called for billions in new funds for aid.
Just over 18 million Afghans, including 9.7 million children, are badly in need of lifesaving support, including food, Save the Children said in a statement. The group called for $3 billion in donations to pay for assistance in 2021.
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Some 10 million children in war-ravaged Afghanistan are at risk of not having enough food to eat in 2021, a humanitarian organization said Tuesday, and called for billions in new funds for aid.
The latest round of peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators that began earlier this month in Qatar has been slow to produce results as concerns grow over a recent spike in violence across Afghanistan.
The U.N. and its humanitarian partners will seek $1.3 billion in aid for 16 million Afghans in need this year, U.N. secretary-general spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said this month. That’s up from an estimated 2.3 million people last year who needed life-saving assistance.
According to the U.N., nearly 6,000 people — a third of them children — were killed or wounded in fighting in Afghanistan between January and September last year, Nyamandi said. The violence continues to force hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes every year and limit people's access to resources including hospitals and clinics.
“Aid to Afghanistan has dropped alarmingly at a time when humanitarian need is rising. We’re now in the unsustainable position where aid falls far short of what’s needed to meet the needs of the people” he said.
Brishna said she and her brother collect garbage for cooking fires and it has been a long time since they had proper food and clothes. “My siblings and I always wish to have three meals in a day with some fruits, and a better life. But sometimes, we sleep with empty stomachs. During the winter we don’t have blankets and heating stuff to warm our house,” she said.
Internally displaced children sit around a stove to keep warm in a temporary shelter in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Internally displaced boys are reflected in a mirror inside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Internally displaced boys play with a ball outside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
An internally displaced sister and brother pose for a photograph inside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
An internally displaced boy peers through the curtain of his temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Chris Nyamandi, the organization's Afghanistan country director, said Afghans are suffering under a combination of violent conflict, poverty and the virus pandemic. “It’s a desperately bad situation that needs urgent attention from the international community,” he said.
An internally displaced boy peers through the curtain of his temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
The latest round of peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators that began earlier this month in Qatar has been slow to produce results as concerns grow over a recent spike in violence across Afghanistan.
The pandemic has also had a disastrous impact on millions of Afghan families. In 2020, the World Bank estimated that the pandemic had hugely disrupted imports, including vital household items, which in turn led to rapid inflation. The added health and economic strains of the pandemic have deepened the humanitarian impact across the country.
Many Afghans also blame runaway government corruption and lawlessness for the country’s poor economy.
Internally displaced boys warm themselves near a fire outside of their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
The U.N. and its humanitarian partners will seek $1.3 billion in aid for 16 million Afghans in need this year, U.N. secretary-general spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said this month. That’s up from an estimated 2.3 million people last year who needed life-saving assistance.
“It’s a huge increase in people who need aid,” he said.
Nyamandi said that with no immediate end in sight to the decades-long conflict, millions of people will continue to suffer. “It’s especially hard on children, many of whom have known nothing but violence," he said.
Internally displaced boys warm themselves near a fire outside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
According to the U.N., nearly 6,000 people — a third of them children — were killed or wounded in fighting in Afghanistan between January and September last year, Nyamandi said. The violence continues to force hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes every year and limit people's access to resources including hospitals and clinics.
In a Save the Children report in December, the group said more than 300,000 Afghan children faced freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness and death without proper winter clothing and heating. The organization provided winter kits to more than 100,000 families in 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The kits included fuel and a heater, blankets and winter clothes, including coats, socks, shoes and hats.
Nyamandi said the plight of the Afghan people is threatened by inadequate humanitarian funding pledged by wealthy nations at a conference in Geneva in November.
An internally displaced boy poses for a photograph outside his temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
“Aid to Afghanistan has dropped alarmingly at a time when humanitarian need is rising. We’re now in the unsustainable position where aid falls far short of what’s needed to meet the needs of the people” he said.
The London-based Save the Children report cites 10-year-old Brishna from eastern Nangarhar province as saying her family was forced to leave their home and move to another district because of the fighting.
“Life is difficult," she said. “My father, who is responsible for bringing us food, is sick.”
An internally displaced boy poses for a photograph outside his temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Brishna said she and her brother collect garbage for cooking fires and it has been a long time since they had proper food and clothes. “My siblings and I always wish to have three meals in a day with some fruits, and a better life. But sometimes, we sleep with empty stomachs. During the winter we don’t have blankets and heating stuff to warm our house,” she said.
Internally displaced children pose for a photograph outside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Internally displaced children sit around a stove to keep warm in a temporary shelter in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Internally displaced boys are reflected in a mirror inside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Internally displaced boys play with a ball outside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
An internally displaced sister and brother pose for a photograph inside their temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
An internally displaced boy peers through the curtain of his temporary home in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Save the Children has warned that more than 300,000 Afghan children face freezing winter conditions that could lead to illness, in the worst cases death, without proper winter clothing and heating. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)