Afghanistan among eight countries worst hit by hunger: Report

Kabul [Afghanistan], December 29 (ANI): Afghanistan is among the eight countries worst hit by hunger. The number of people facing severe hunger in Afghanistan increased from 2.25 million people in 2019 to 6.6 million in 2022, Khaama Press reported.
The Khaama Press article cited a Save the Children report which said that along with Afghanistan, Central African Republic, DRC, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen are the other most hunger-hit countries in the world.
"In Afghanistan, we are finding that children are so hungry that they are unable to remember what they have learned at school. As a result of malnutrition, they are also more susceptible to life-threatening diseases such as cholera. We are also seeing a worrying increase in damaging coping mechanisms such as child marriage and child labor. Responding to this rising need is impossible without the full participation of women in the response, and we're extremely worried about these findings in the context of the current suspension of programs." Save the Children's acting country director in Afghanistan, Nora Hassanien said.
The hunger and starvation problem becomes even worse as several other NGOs like Save the Children have stopped their life-saving work in Afghanistan resulting the ban imposed on woman employees in private organisations by the Taliban's current regime, According to the Khaama Press report.
The delivery of live-saving surfacing by female NGO workers was of utmost importance currently. As the living conditions of people and especially children in Afghanistan is becoming worse because of poverty, hunger, unemployment and lack of security, Khaama Press reported.
Previously, the United Nations agencies, Save the Children and others in a joint statement have said that "some time-critical" programs in Afghanistan have been temporarily stopped due to a lack of female staff. Calling the decision a "major blow" for vulnerable communities, the UN agencies in a joint statement urged the Taliban to reverse the decision banning women from working in NGOs and barring them from attending schools and universities.
In a statement released on the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Efforts website, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Principals on Afghanistan said, "Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans. Already, some time-critical programmes have had to stop temporarily due to lack of female staff."
The signatories in the statement include signatories, including Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu, Emergency Relief Coordinator, World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Martin Griffiths and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
The statement noted that the Taliban's ban on females working in NGOs comes at a time when over 28 million people in Afghanistan need assistance to survive as the country grapples with the risk of famine conditions, economic decline, entrenched poverty and a brutal winter. It warned that the activities will likely be halted as humanitarian assistance cannot be delivered without female aid workers.(ANI)