Afghans' lives have become 'unbearably hard' due to rise in poverty: WFP

Kabul: Taliban rule in Afghanistan has escalated levels of poverty and unemployment in the war-ravaged country resulting in the lives of Afghans becoming "unbearably hard," said World Food Programme (WFP) in a statement.

Highlighting the country's food insecurity, the World Food Programme tweeted on Wednesday and stated that the majority of the population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, Khaama Press reported. "Over half of the population of Afghanistan is suffering from hunger and immediately needs assistance," WFP said, adding that it has supported over 10 million women through livelihood support and capital creation.

Moreover, the poverty rates in Afghanistan have climbed to 97 per cent as per UN reports and nine out of ten persons cannot afford enough food, reported Khaama Press.

The World Food Program estimated that nearly 19 million Afghans face food insecurity on World Food Day which was observed on October 16. Amid the Ukraine war, the World Food Programme has called for USD 1.1 billion to continue delivering monthly food and nutritional assistance for the next six months to 15 million acutely food-insecure people in Afghanistan.

World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan condemned the ongoing economic crisis in Afghanistan as people in the country are on the brink of starvation and facing poverty.

In a tweet, OCHA in Afghanistan wrote, "19 M people are facing food insecurity, 25M people are living in poverty, 5.8M people are in protracted internal displacement, thousands of houses damaged by floods and earthquakes," expressing concerns about the plight of Afghans.

"To survive the winter, they require food, nutrition support, warm clothing & a roof over their heads," tweeted OCHA.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has also raised concerns about the economic crisis in Afghanistan.

"The economic crisis wiped out jobs, salaries & livelihoods across Afghanistan, helping families & communities support themselves is more important than ever," wrote WFP on Twitter.

The rising crisis in Afghanistan has hit small enterprises the hardest and private companies have laid off more than half of their employees due to a shortage in sales and a drastic decline in the consumer demand for products.