Afghan people queue up to board a U.S. military aircraft to leave Afghanistan. Photo: Shakib Rahmani/AFP via Getty Images
Some 14 million people in Afghanistan are facing severe hunger following the Taliban's takeover, according to the head of the UN's food agency.
Why it matters: The country has already faced a severe drought — its second in three years — and COVID-19's social and economic impacts. The Taliban's siege has elevated the situation in Afghanistan from dire to catastrophic, World Food Program’s (WFP) country director Mary Ellen McGroarty said.
By the numbers: The drought led to the loss of 40% of crops, which has caused a "devastating impact" on livestock, McGroarty said in a video briefing to UN correspondents from Kabul this week.
- With the Taliban now in power, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced, she said.
"Really, the race is on to get food where it’s most needed," she said.
- "We are actively reaching out to the new authorities for unimpeded humanitarian access," McGroarty noted.
- She urged donors to provide the $200 million needed to get food into Afghanistan before roads are blocked off this winter.
- WFP was able to access 4 million people in May and plans to expand operations to reach 9 million "over the next couple of months, but there are many, many challenges," she added.
Worth noting: UNICEF also warned this week that 1 million children under the age of 5 are at risk of becoming severely malnourished by end of 2021.
The big picture: Thousands of Afghans are fleeing the country to escape the Taliban, which has spurred calls for open borders.
- "The United Nations Assistance Mission has warned that without a significant de-escalation in violence, Afghanistan is on course to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since the UN’s records began," the United Nations refugee agency said last week.
Go deeper: The Afghanistan exit