Afghanistan has been isolated internationally since the Taliban came to power. Thanks to humanitarian aid, an impending starvation catastrophe in winter was averted. But almost every other person has little to eat.

According to an analysis by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), almost half of the Afghan population is affected by acute hunger. That’s about 19.7 million people, said Anthea Webb, the WFP expert responsible for the sector.

The situation is particularly bad in the north-eastern province of Ghor. There, 20,000 people are affected by “catastrophic hunger”. They will have little opportunity to grow food after a particularly harsh winter. But people across the country were battling a prolonged drought and severe economic crisis.

“Hunger on an unprecedented scale”

Humanitarian aid prevented devastation in the winter. “But hunger remains on an unprecedented scale across the country,” the UN expert emphasized. Webb spoke of the world’s largest food aid program, with the organization reaching 22 million people in Afghanistan already this year.

In addition to food packages, there are programs to show people how to farm their fields despite changing conditions due to climate change. The World Food Program works with mills and bakeries and trains men and women to create jobs. The organization needs US$1.4 billion (equivalent to approximately 1.3 billion euros) to continue its programs in Afghanistan.