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The harsh cold of winter in Afghanistan is packed under blankets in makeshift camps, and sick babies in hospitals are wrapped in their mother’s full burqa.
Meanwhile, long queues at food distribution centers have become horrible as the country deepens in desperate times.
Since the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, it was on the verge of collapsing into a war-torn economy that had once survived only international donations. There is not enough money for hospitals.
Saliha, who uses the same name as many Afghans, took her baby to Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul. Weak and fragile, four-month-old Najeeb was malnourished.
For many of Afghanistan’s poorest people, bread is their only commodity. Women and children line up outside the bakeries to grab bread before dawn.
The statistics from the United Nations are staggering: Nearly 24 million people in Afghanistan, about 60 percent of the population, suffer from severe hunger. 8.7 million Afghans are facing famine.
The World Health Organization has warned that millions of children are suffering from malnutrition, and the United Nations says 97 percent of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line.
The majority try to find food and fuel.
For millions living in IDP camps or sitting outside government ministries seeking help, the only source of warmth is to gather around the wood fires.
Nearly 80% of Afghanistan’s previous government budget came from the international community. This money, now cut, was funded by hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries.
Sanctions have hampered banks, while billions of dollars in Afghan funds and assets remain frozen abroad. The UN says it is struggling to figure out how to get humanitarian aid to Afghans by abandoning the Taliban government.
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