20 million people starving in Afghanistan – UN

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Afghanistan began 2023 as the world's largest and most severe humanitarian crisis, according to the latest report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, adding that an alarming increase in the number of people in the country in need of humanitarian and protection assistance has been recorded.

A record 28.3 million people need help this year, or two-thirds of the population, according to the latest OCHA report released on Sunday.

and seriousness”, — the report says.
Of the 28.3 million people in need of life-saving assistance, humanitarian partners have prioritized 23.7 million people to receive well-coordinated, intersectoral assistance in 2023, which requires $4.62 billion.

“This is a huge jump from 24.4 million people in need of assistance in 2022 and 18.4 million at the start of 2021. Today, by March 2023, about 20 million people will face acute hunger, with 6 million people in a state of “emergency” (one step away from hunger) — one of the highest rates in the world in absolute terms,” ​​OCHA said.

Malnutrition rates remain extremely high, with some 875,000 children expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2023, and 2.3 million children and 840,000 women — from moderate acute malnutrition.

The aid agency has warned that if Afghanistan enters its third year of drought, the food situation could deteriorate by another 20 percent. a sharp decline in income, rising debt and high unemployment.

A staggering 80 percent of households in Afghanistan are facing a decline in income. Debt has risen – both in terms of the number of people who have taken on debt (82 percent of all households) and the amount of debt (about 11 percent more than the previous year).

“Three-quarters of people's incomes are spent on food, and very little is left for other needs such as education and health care. Increasing poverty, human rights violations and lack of access to basic services exacerbate an already dire situation,” — OCHA said.

This past winter was particularly harsh for the people of Afghanistan, with extreme temperatures recorded in some areas in January, including freezing temperatures down to minus 35 degrees. These harsh winter conditions have resulted in hundreds of thousands of head deaths livestock either from cold or hunger, which exacerbated the plight of people.

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