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UN food agency says $800 million urgently needed for Afghanistan, warns of ‘catastrophic hunger’

NEWS WIRES
Mon, 10 April 2023 

© Ebrahim Noroozi, AP

The U.N. food agency said Monday it urgently needs $800 million for the next six months to help Afghanistan, which is at the highest risk of famine in a quarter of a century.

Aid agencies have been providing food, education and health care support to Afghans in the wake of the Taliban takeover of August 2021 and the economic collapse that followed it. But distribution has been severely impacted by a Taliban edict last December banning women from working at national and international nongovernmental groups.

The U.N. was not part of this ban but last week it said the Taliban-led government has stopped Afghan women from working at its agencies in the country. Authorities have yet to comment on the restriction.

The World Food Program said women aid workers play a vital role in delivering the agency’s food and nutrition assistance and that it will make “every possible effort” to keep this going, while also trying to ensure the active involvement of female staff.

“The WFP urgently needs $800 million for the next six months to continue providing assistance to people in need across Afghanistan,” the organization said. “Catastrophic hunger knocks on Afghanistan’s doors and unless humanitarian support is sustained, hundreds of thousands more Afghans will need assistance to survive.”

(AP)