Nine million people in Afghanistan on verge of facing acute starvation: UN World Food Program

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 28 : Roughly nine million people in Afghanistan are on the verge of facing acute starvation amid the unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis, according to a UN World Food Program (WFP) report, Khaama Press reported.
Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley warned that starvation could hit Afghanistan hardest if funding is not received immediately.
Beasley wrote on Twitter that the world cannot turn its back on the Afghan people in this hour of unprecedented crisis, and donor countries and aid organizations should generously contribute to help the people of Afghanistan during these difficult times, according to Khaama Press.
Decades of complex and protracted conflicts, combined with a changing climate, gender inequalities, rapid urbanization, underemployment, and the recent regime change in the war-torn country pose considerable challenges in efforts to achieve zero Hunger and improved nutrition in Afghanistan.
About half of Afghanistan's population lives below the poverty line, and food insecurity is on the rise, largely due to conflict and insecurity cutting off whole communities from livelihood opportunities.
As per the latest UN reports, nine out of ten Afghans do not eat enough, and roughly two-thirds of the population, or 28.3 million people, are projected to need humanitarian assistance in 2023, nearly four million more than last year.
Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, followed by a severe economic crisis, the problems of ordinary people have been compounded by droughts and floods. Families are struggling for survival as they have no other means of income to feed mouths other than relying on humanitarian aid, according to Khaama Press.
Women and girls in Afghanistan are the hardest hit by the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis, and by the gender-based restrictions on their fundamental rights to education and work.