Need USD 2.6 billion to help Afghan people, says World Food Programme

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 7 : Expressing concerns over the starvation level in Afghanistan, the World Food Programme has said the organisation needs up to USD 2.6 billion to provide food to Afghan people, reported local media.
Poverty and starvation have arrived in Afghan cities this time which is concerning, said WFP spokesperson for Afghanistan Shelley Thakral, reported Khaama Press.
Thakral also emphasised that Afghan people have survived acute hunger worse than the ongoing ones.
Nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan are starving due to the worst drought in decades, a surge in food prices and the political condition of the country, said Thakral.
She also stressed that hundreds of thousands of people especially teachers and construction workers who have been laid off after political transformation are experiencing food shortage and insecurity of food for the first time, according to Khaama Press.
People have run out of vegetables, meat, and dairy at a time when malnutrition is on the rise that hardly affects children under 5 and pregnant women, said Thakral, adding that families are resorting to selling their home items in order to feed family members.