By M.Mursal
As the humanitarian crisis pushes half of Afghanistan’s population towards starvation, displaced families are living on the streets in the central province of Ghor, local sources told Rukhshana Media.
In the harsh chilly weather of Firozkoh city, the provincial capital of mountainous Ghor, some residents of the village of Allahyar to its west are sleeping on the streets, said a civil activist who asked not to be named due to security threats. The families include women and children.
Taliban officials in the province confirmed to Rukhshana Media that displaced families have already spent days living on the streets.
War and drought are the main reasons for displacement in the western provinces of Afghanistan.
Last week, Human Rights Watch warned that if immediate action was not taken to address the collapse of the economic system in Afghanistan, the country would face famine.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) has also issued warnings that half of Afghanistan’s population will face starvation if no immediate action is taken.
“Ninety-five percent of the people don’t have enough food, and now we’re looking at 23 million people marching towards starvation,” said David Beasley, director of the UN World Food Program in an interview with the BBC, describing the situation in Afghanistan as “the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth.”
Near Qala-i-Naw, the capital of the northwestern province of Badghis, around 2500 families are living under tents in two internally displaced camps.
The western province of Herat, which currently hosts 140,000 internally displaced families, is overwhelmed and cannot welcome any more displaced families, said Mohammad Rafiq Nairomand, the director of the Taliban’s refugees and repatriation directorate.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is providing assistance to 5000 families across the country’s western provinces, according to the Taliban official.
UNHCR assistance will aid 1300 internally displaced families in Herat province, which would provide $265 US dollars cash per family.
“The UNHCR will support the displaced families who return to their home for six months,” said the Taliban official, adding that this would be an incentive to send displaced families back to their homes.
There are currently an estimated 5.5 million internally displaced people in the country, including 664,000 newly displaced by conflict in 2021, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
