Afghanistan’s Taliban government is pressing desperately for the release of some €8 billion of frozen central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis. The UN calls it “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”.
Aid agencies estimate some 19 million Afghans are enduring an acute hunger crisis, unable to access sufficient food each day, owing to the implosion of the aid-dependent economy. A further 13 million are struggling to secure sufficient food, with the situation expected to deteriorate as winter arrives. The UN says 3.5 million children under five are at a high risk of starvation.
The Taliban seizure of power has precipitated an intensification of the economic crisis brought on by widespread drought, and now cities are as badly afflicted as rural areas. The IMF predicts GDP will fall by some 30 per cent this year while unemployment, rampant inflation and a devaluing currency are eroding what little savings people had. Hundreds of thousands are going without pay as the international aid which contributed three-quarters of the country’s income and supported huge state payrolls was cut off.
The healthcare system is also on the brink of collapse. The World Health Organisation reports that two-thirds of the 2,300 healthcare facilities it supports have run out of essential medicines – only about 400 are now functioning. More than 20,000 health workers are out of work.
Restoring aid is essential, but difficult. Development support is currently out of the question, but humanitarian aid and supplies are beginning to flow again slowly from big donors such as the US, EU and international agencies. But tight conditions must be applied, with donors bypassing government agencies and insisting on Taliban guarantees of access and protection.
Trust is in short supply as the country’s new rulers are not honouring promises on issues such as women’s rights and exclusion of terror groups. As the snows begin to fall the Afghan people are paying a terrible price.