Food could run sooner than expected in Afghanistan, warned a senior UN official, alluding to a hunger crisis amidst the country's new Taliban rulers' endeavouring to restore stability after decades of war.
About one third of the country's population of 38 million is facing “emergency” or “crisis” levels of food insecurity, as per Ramiz Alakbarov, the local U.N. humanitarian coordinator. With winter coming and a severe drought ongoing, more money is needed to feed the population, he said.
The U.N.'s World Food Program has brought in food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people in recent weeks. But of the $1.3 billion needed for aid efforts, only 39% has been received, he averred.
The Taliban, who seized the control of the country ahead of the withdrawal of American forces, now must govern a nation that relies heavily on international aid and is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis. In addition to the concerns about food supplies, civil servants haven't been paid for months and the local currency is losing value. Most of the Afghanistan's foreign reserves are held abroad and currently frozen.
In the wake of the U.S. pullout, many Afghans are anxiously waiting to see how the Taliban will rule. When they were last in power, before being driven out by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, they had imposed draconian restrictions, refusing to allow girls to go to school, largely confining women to their homes and banning television, music and even photography.
But more recently, their leaders have sought to project a more moderate image. Schools have reopened to boys and girls, though Taliban officials have said they will study separately. Women are out on the streets wearing Islamic headscarves — as they always have — rather than the all-encompassing burqa the Taliban required in the past.
The challenges the Taliban face in reviving the economy could give Western nations leverage as they push the group to fulfil a pledge to establish an inclusive government and guarantee women's rights. The Taliban say they want to have good relations with other countries, including the United States.
But many Afghans fear the Taliban won't keep those pledges and also are concerned over the nation's wobbling economic situation. Tens of thousands sought to flee the country as a result in a harrowing airlift.
But thousands who had worked with the U.S. and its allies, as well as up to 200 Americans, remained in the country after the efforts ended with the last U.S. troops flying out of Kabul international airport on 31st August just before midnight.