The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned in a statement that Afghanistan’s economy is going into free-fall, as a result of sanctions on banking services, freezing of assets, and lack of humanitarian aid where it is most needed, ToloNews reported today. Dominik Stillhart, the ICRC’s director of operations, charged that “the international community is turning its back as the country teeters on the precipice of man-made catastrophe.” Unless the international community engages with Afghanistan, there will be a total collapse of essential services. The ICRC itself has begun supporting 18 regional and provincial hospitals and 5,100 staff to help prevent total collapse of the public health system in the country, but this aid is not enough, the ICRC statement reports, further stating that malnutrition is up 31% around Kandahar, compared to the same period in 2020, and that the severity of child malnutrition can be up to three times what is considered to be an emergency rating, region by region.
As one example, officials at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul report that the number of malnourished children has recently jumped by 50%. Dr. Farid Ahmad Andishmand says “our work is being affected as the number of patients is overwhelming and the death rate among the children has also increased.” The situation is such that only emergency patients are being attended to, while other patients have to be denied care, says hospital director Mohammad Latif Bahir.
