Since the Taliban took power, not only the political situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. The humanitarian situation in the country is also precarious. NGOs send out a call for help.
Berlin – A gram of sugar. That’s four kilocalories, which can mean anything for many children in Afghanistan*. A tiny grain that can be a small ray of hope in the famine for the smallest inhabitants of a country plagued by crises. If the children are still too young to look for something to eat on the street themselves, then they often go out with their mothers – you can literally see how hungry they are.
Yes, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan* is alarming. According to a forecast by the United Nations together with the World Bank, 98 percent of the population will be living below the poverty line by the middle of the year. Aid organizations* such as Welthungerhilfe, UNICEF and Pro Asyl are therefore calling for more attention and commitment to Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took power six months ago, however, the aid funds from Western countries have largely been frozen.
UNICEF’s Christina Kahmann on the situation in Afghanistan: “Humanitarian aid is possible and urgently needed”
Humanitarian aid is also possible under the rule of the Taliban*, as Christina Kahmann from UNICEF spoke to kreiszeitung.de reports: “Humanitarian aid in Afghanistan is possible and urgently needed.” Together with some colleagues, she was only on site at the end of 2021 to support people in need in the harsh winter with temperatures of up to minus 15 degrees. And what she experienced on the ground increased her concern for the country even more: “Compared to what you see in the media, the humanitarian situation on the ground is much more shocking.”
According to Afghanistan expert Richard Kaniewski from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, around 20 million people in the country are acutely threatened by starvation. From March 2022, the SPD politician will take over the office management of the state representation in Afghanistan * – due to the current situation, however, initially from India. “Overall, the situation has definitely deteriorated,” he says in an interview with kreiszeitung.de, but the situation is no longer as tense as it was in August. The reason: With the Taliban taking power, most of the domestic armed conflicts have come to an end.
Humanitarian aid in Afghanistan has become easier since the Taliban took power
The takeover of power by the Taliban* is often classified politically as a catastrophe and is a major step backwards in terms of human rights. But it can also open doors for the work of aid organizations. “It may sound paradoxical, but contrary to public perception, humanitarian aid in Afghanistan has actually been somewhat easier to implement since the Taliban took power,” says Kahmann. A big plus point is that they can now penetrate into areas that were previously hotly contested. And the communication also works: “We are in talks with the Taliban and they accept our work in their dominions.”
And yet the situation for many people in Afghanistan* is more precarious than ever before. In many places there is serious poverty, many people are starving and suffer from economic and human rights developments. “A multi-complex situation prevails in Afghanistan. Apart from the social circumstances, Afghanistan is above all caught up in a humanitarian catastrophe,” explains Afghanistan expert Kaniewski. “Afghanistan has been one of the worst places in the world for children for many years,” says UNICEF spokeswoman Kahmann. But she, too, is concerned about the current developments: “You can’t really put the need into words.”
Afghanistan expert sure: Freezing aid money for Afghanistan has exacerbated the crisis
But how did it even come to this? The causes of the humanitarian crisis are manifold. First there was the economic crisis, then Afghanistan suffered first from a devastating drought, followed by a freezing winter. And as if all that weren’t enough, various militias across the country have engaged in violent power struggles. Since the Taliban’s victory, the source of international aid has also dried up*. This means that 75 percent of state funds have disappeared overnight.
This dramatized the humanitarian crisis even more, as Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, says in an interview with tagesschau.de: “The Afghan government’s foreign assets were frozen to prevent the Taliban regime from strengthens. This led to the extensive collapse of the education and health systems and deepened the existing economic crisis.” In the meantime, the UN has found a way to provide financial support for the health system and soon for education independently of the Taliban*. But that’s not enough.
“It is enormously important that the federal government maintains an exchange with the people on the ground so as not to lose sight of the situation,” says Afghanistan expert Kaniewski. At the same time, however, he points out that, apart from humanitarian aid, the West’s options for intervention are limited. UNICEF spokeswoman Kahmann sees the primary duty of politicians to let the aid money flow again – and to do so as soon as possible: “Something has to happen quickly now, because every day that we continue to hesitate, children die of malnutrition and Undersupply.” * kreiszeitung.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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