KABUL, Afghanistan — A freeze in U.S. foreign aid and cuts in international funding have left millions of Afghans facing acute hunger this winter, according to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP).
“Any potential reduction in assistance for Afghanistan is, of course, concerning,” Hsiao-Wei Lee, WFP’s Afghanistan country director, said as quoted in a report by Reuters. “The levels of need here are just so high. I hope that decisions take into consideration the people and their immense needs.”
Despite some progress in addressing food insecurity, approximately one-third of Afghanistan’s population — about 15 million people — remains in acute hunger, she said.
This marks an improvement from the peak of the crisis in 2021 when 23 million Afghans were affected, but the current numbers still represent a critical humanitarian crisis.
“I certainly hope that any decisions made, any implementation of decisions made, take into consideration just, as I kind of mentioned earlier, it’s (about) the people and the needs of the people,” she added.
Afghanistan’s economy has been on the brink since the Taliban took power in 2021, prompting a freeze in development and security aid and restrictions on the banking sector. While humanitarian aid has partially filled the gap, funding has declined in recent years due to global crises and donor concerns over Taliban policies, including restrictions on women’s rights and a ban on Afghan women working for NGOs.
WFP, which is now only able to assist half of those requiring urgent food aid, stressed the need for sustained international support to prevent further deterioration of Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation.
