All Afghanistan has been a country in chaos. Since the US withdrawal
last August one year on nearly half of its people are facing hunger.
Six million of them are at risk of famine. The freeze on assets and
international sanctions have crippled the Afghan economy. Health
centers are overburdened Children are malnourished, and doctors are
helpless. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson has that story.
The crowds gathering outside Kabul's bakeries grow daily.
They are hungry and desperate, waiting in the rain for some compassion,
staring at the fresh bread.
Local people who have some money and will to share buy food for the
bakery staff to hand out
It's a drop in an ocean of need. The United Nations is currently
feeding half the population of Afghanistan. 20 million people. Six
million of them are what we call one step away from famine like conditions.
Six million people. That's more than the population of Ireland, where
I'm from Mary Ellen McGroarty is the UN's World Food program country
director in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's economy continues to falter One year after the US withdrawal
and Taliban takeover mass unemployment followed the collapse of the
Afghan government last August. Any savings are now long gone urban
population that as you said, the middle class, right the teachers
that what the civil servants you mean. I have gone into you know,
towns and cities, and that's what I need is people who have never
student alliance through humanitarian assistance of any sort for
decades.
Of conflict and now find themselves
Who used to have a job. All they want is their job back.
International sanctions and freezing of the assets of Afghanistan.
Central Bank make it near impossible for the economy to function
normally.
The country is run by an internationally recognized terrorist group.
Making its economy the victim of counterterrorist frictions.
Those still with savings cannot access them and sending money to
the country from abroad remains tough. Added to this food price rises
are making it harder for families to buy enough
for the second month in a row. We're having to increase the cash.
Ah!
The cash amount that we're distributing to factor in, Um price increases
by 10% 2 months in a row, which is almost 20% you know means so it
is it is, and then we're also having delays in the supply chain as
well. So there is a knock on effect from Ukraine in Afghanistan,
bulls and food prices in fuel prices.
It's here, where the results of those increases can be seen. Kabul's
Indira Gandhi Children's hospital bed after bed is filled with malnourished,
sick Children
This six month old boy has malnutrition that causes bloating. His
grandmother. Emma says his father has no work, and they cannot afford
baby formula. So, like many other poor families, they feed the baby
cow's milk.
The problem is, these families are poor, so they buy very low quality
milk, which the Children can't properly digest. And so the Children
have diarrhea and that eventually leads to malnutrition. Nurse Kazini
and her colleagues can treat these Children but they cannot help
the families buy food.
So the Children they help return, needing their care again
the bottle of sudden after one month we released them, but since
they still can't afford the good milk, they go back to the low quality
milk and again, the Children get diarrhea and within 10 days, they
are once again severely malnourished, and they have to be readmitted
to the hospital. So many of our patients right now are on their second
or third time at the hospital for treatment.
Afghans have innovated to help get more aid directly to families
who need it. And Afghan American e commerce startup called a seal
pivoted as soon as the crisis hit a year ago and now helps the diaspora
abroad and any individual donor online send food and emergency aid
to families in Kabul directly.
Their team hires local drivers to deliver packages of baby formula,
food and basic medical supplies in over 30 provinces
on Hassan oversees the emergency response team in Kabul if we have
a package for 200 families
But you will see there more than 1000 families together there and
they are, you know, asking for the food packages.
They're in Greek need
need will only continue until Afghanistan's economy is able to function
in the global community that will depend on politicians and diplomats
and the Taliban are some very difficult conversations to be had around
Afghanistan. Um I As I said last year, I think we need to avoid collective
punishment.
One year on since the collapse of the Afghan state, the international
community is no closer to figuring out how to help Afghans economically
without empowering the Taliban's hardliners.
Until they do.
Millions will be forced to wait.
Hungry.
And running out of options.