A senior UN official warned on Wednesday that the UN's food supplies in Afghanistan could run out this month, threatening to add a hunger catastrophe to the challenges facing the country's new Taliban rulers as they struggle to restore stability after decades of war.
According to Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's humanitarian leader in Afghanistan, around a third of the country's 38 million people don't know if they will have a meal every day.
In recent weeks, the UN's World Food Program has brought in food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people, but with winter approaching and drought still raging, at least $200 million is needed quickly to continue feeding the most vulnerable Afghans, he added.
Alakbarov warned reporters during a virtual news conference that the World Food Program's inventories in the country will be depleted by the end of September. We will be unable to deliver certain vital food items due to a lack of supplies.
Only 39% of the $1.3 billion needed for overall humanitarian efforts has been received, according to UN authorities.
The Taliban, who took control of the country ahead of the withdrawal of American forces this week, now have to administer a country that is largely reliant on international help and is experiencing an economic catastrophe.
In addition to food shortages, civil officials have not been paid in months, and the local currency is depreciating. The majority of Afghanistan's foreign reserves are currently frozen and held abroad.
Afghanistan's former acting finance minister, Khalid Payenda, portrayed a country in perilous straits on Wednesday.
Payenda said the Afghan currency has yet to sink because money exchanges had been shut down at Georgetown University in Washington. However, according to Payenda, who portrayed former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as reclusive and paranoid before the Taliban takeover, its value might plummet by more than 100%.
I believe the war took its toll on his mind, and he viewed everything with distrust, according to Payenda.
Part of the disarray stems from the Taliban's quick takeover of the country, with Payenda claiming that the previous administration could have lasted another two or three years due to international funding promises.
Payenda remarked, "I didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Nobody accomplished it in reality. According to Mohammad Sharif, a shopkeeper in Kabul's capital, supplies are available in shops and markets, but rising food prices are a serious issue.
He believes that if the situation continues to deteriorate and there is no government to regulate prices, residents will face a slew of challenges.
Following the US withdrawal, many Afghans are watching with bated breath to see how the Taliban will rule. They enforced extreme restrictions when they were last in power, before being thrown out by the US-led invasion in 2001. They refused to allow girls to attend school, essentially limiting women to their homes, and outlawing television, music, and event photography.
However, their leaders have recently attempted to create a more moderate image. Schools for boys and girls have resumed, though Taliban leaders have stated that they will study separately. Women are still wearing Islamic headscarves on the streets instead of the all-encompassing burqa that the Taliban insisted on in the past.
The Taliban's difficulties in restarting the economy may provide leverage for Western nations as they press the group to fulfill a vow to build an inclusive government and protect women's rights. The Taliban claim to want good relations with other nations, especially the United States.
Many Afghans are apprehensive that the Taliban would not follow through on their promises, and that the country's economic position will limit opportunities. As a result of the terrible airlift, tens of thousands attempted to exit the nation.
Thousands of people who had cooperated with the US and its partners, as well as up to 200 Americans, remained in the country after the operations finished, with the last US forces departing Kabul international airport shortly before midnight Monday.
Later, President Joe Biden defended his management of the chaotic retreat and evacuation attempts, which included outbreaks of violence, including a suicide bombing that killed 13 American service personnel and 169 Afghans last week. It was unavoidable, he continued, that the ultimate exit from two decades of conflict would be painful.
Biden stated that he is still dedicated to getting the Americans who have been left behind leave if they so desire. The Taliban have stated that those with legal documents will be allowed to fly freely, but it is unclear whether commercial airlines will be willing to provide service.
Bilal Karimi, a Taliban spokesman's office official, claimed on Wednesday that a team of Turkish and Qatari specialists had arrived in Kabul to assist in reopening the airport. UN humanitarian representative Alakbarov stated that the UN is requesting access to the airport so that it can send food and other supplies straight to the capital.
The Taliban must also deal with the threat posed by the Islamic State, which is even more extremist and has claimed responsibility for the airport bombing. The Taliban have promised that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for attacks on other countries, which is a critical US demand given that the militants once housed al-Qaida officials who masterminded the 9/11 attacks.
Following last week's bombing, American officials said drone operations targeted the Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, and Biden promised that airstrikes would continue.
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated on Wednesday that future counter-terrorism strikes in Afghanistan might require coordination with the Taliban.
