IRC warns starvation could kill more Afghans than last 20 years of war as 97% of population faces poverty

Six months since the shift in power in Afghanistan, humanitarian needs across the country have skyrocketed. 97 per cent of the population is expected to be living well below the poverty line by the second half of this year. The IRC is calling for an urgent policy reset: leaders in the US and Europe must address the economic crisis to enable ordinary Afghans to meet their basic needs.

As the freezing winter conditions worsen, millions of families are finding themselves in desperate circumstances. Almost 23 million Afghans – more than half of the country’s population – are facing acute food insecurity. One million children are at risk of the most severe form of malnutrition. Unaddressed, the current humanitarian crisis could lead to more deaths than twenty years of war.

Vicki Aken, IRC Afghanistan Director, said,

“The IRC works across dozens of crisis and conflict settings, but we have not seen an entire country deteriorate this fast in recent years. Since August, the international community has cut off non-humanitarian funding, which amounted to 40 per cent of GDP and propped up 75 per cent of public spending, including basic services. This economic crisis is contributing to a catastrophic humanitarian emergency that has left a quarter of the population facing the risk of famine – the largest population experiencing such extreme levels of hunger in the world. Afghan families are being forced into more and more desperate measures of survival. Mothers and their children are sitting in snowfall, begging for money; parents are forced to sell their daughters into early marriage to bring cash for their families.

“Afghanistan’s slide towards catastrophe is primarily driven by the policies of the international community, rather than conflict or natural disaster. For millions of Afghans, survival depends on their ability to access humanitarian aid, but humanitarian aid cannot replace the functions of the state. Drastic cuts in aid have been compounded by the freezing of Afghan assets and confusion around international sanctions that are driving a financial crisis that reaches into every corner of Afghan life. Ordinary Afghans need more than aid – they need a functional banking system and economy so that businesses can withdraw cash to pay their employees, people can earn a living, pay for food at markets and support their families.

“Right now, every day Afghans are being punished by international policies that are leaving millions on the brink of starvation. The next six months necessitate an improvement, and the power to ensure it happens lies in the hands of the international community. The cost of failure is too high.”