The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Emergency Watchlist ranks Afghanistan as the country most at risk of worsening humanitarian crisis in 2022, according to their report released on Jan. 7. The IRC has been working in Afghanistan since 1988, providing humanitarian aid across the country. Their new report includes:
“By late 2021, nearly half of Afghans were experiencing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity—the highest level ever recorded in Afghanistan and a 37% rise compared to six months earlier. Throughout early 2022, 55% of Afghans will face acute food insecurity, including nearly 9 million people at emergency levels—one step before famine conditions.
“Afghanistan could see near universal poverty by mid-2022, with 97% of Afghans impoverished, according to the United Nations. Unaddressed, this economic crisis will drive up humanitarian needs, from food insecurity and malnutrition to health crises. Humanitarian organizations operating in Afghanistan are not spared from the economic crisis; cash is needed to pay staff and suppliers, purchase items and provide cash programs for the most vulnerable.
“Now, over 90% of the country’s health clinics are expected to shut down, depriving millions of basic care, threatening the COVID-19 response and creating a major risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition and preventable deaths.”
Demonstrating again the extreme hypocrisy of the Western claim that the Taliban’s human rights violations against women and children was the cause of the genocidal cut off of all funding for Afghanistan and refusal to release the countries reserves from western banks,, the IRC reports: “Women and girls in Afghanistan are now at higher risk of gender-based violence, child marriage, and exploitation and abuse as resources become scarce and needs go unmet. The collapse of the health system could unravel gains made in areas like maternal health.” (https://www.rescue.org/article/crisis-afghanistan-unprecedented-hunger-after-conflict)
