The World Food Programme (WFP) in a new report has stated that at least 15.3 million people are projected to be acutely food-insecure between May and October 2023 in Afghanistan.
The aid organisation added that 3.2 million people are acutely malnourished, including 3.2 million children younger than 5 years old in the country.
The report highlighted that this is because a 30-35 percent wheat deficit is expected for 2023 following the third consecutive drought year in Afghanistan, especially as the western provinces are likely to still experience below-average harvests.
It also added into account that the ongoing locust outbreak in northern Afghanistan has threatened to destroy a quarter of this year’s wheat harvest – up to 1.2 million mt, worth US$480 million.
It stated that it needs US$1.2 billion to sustain operations through the winter.
It also added that 28.8 million people – two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population – require multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance in 2023.
The report has been formed after the visit of WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau between 11 and 15 June to witness operations, engage with key stakeholders, and advocate for urgent resources to meet critical funding gaps.
The organisation added that it had reached 15.4 million people since the beginning of 2023; however, since April it has had to cut eight million people from its emergency response caseload due to critical funding shortfalls.
Afghanistan is among the countries with the highest prevalence of insufficient food consumption globally.
The report in summary added that hunger in Afghanistan is primarily driven by the economic crisis which has gripped the country since August 2021 after Taliban’s takeover, compounded by decades of conflict, climate shocks, and severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls to work and pursue higher education.
