In Pictures: Hunger, poverty continue to stalk desperate Afghans

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In Pictures: Hunger, poverty continue to stalk desperate Afghans

A lack of funding batters Afghanistan’s already troubled economy, leading to increasing poverty.

An Afghan woman at a shop in Kabul, Afghanistan — The UN warns nearly 23 million Afghans – about 55 per cent of the population – are facing extreme levels of hunger, with nearly nine million at risk of famine as winter takes hold in the impoverished, landlocked country. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

By AP

The bitter cold of Afghanistan’s winter has small children huddled beneath blankets in makeshift camps, while sick babies in hospitals lie wrapped in their mothers’ all-enveloping burqas.

Meanwhile, long lines at food distribution centres have become overwhelming as the country sinks deeper into desperate times.

Since the August 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There is not enough money for hospitals.

Saliha, who like many Afghans uses just one name, took her infant son to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul. Weak and fragile, four-month-old Najeeb was badly malnourished.

For many of Afghanistan’s poorest, bread is their only staple. Women and children line up outside bakeries before dawn to get bread.

The statistics provided by the United Nations are grim: almost 24 million people in Afghanistan, about 60 percent of the population, suffer from acute hunger. As many as 8.7 million Afghans are coping with famine.

The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the United Nations says 97 percent of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line.

The majority scramble to find food and fuel.

For millions living in camps for the displaced or sitting outside government ministries seeking help, the only source of warmth is to huddle around open wood-burning fires.

Nearly 80 percent of Afghanistan’s previous government’s budget came from the international community. That money, now cut off, financed hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries.

Sanctions have crippled banks while billions of dollars of Afghanistan’s funds and assets remain frozen abroad. The UN says it is struggling to figure out how to get humanitarian aid to Afghans while bypassing the Taliban government.

A man disributes bread to Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul — A man distributes bread to Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

An Afghan woman is wrapped in a blanket in Herat, Afghanistan. — About 2,000 internally displaced people left Allahyar village of Ghor province because of the drought that worsened their economic situation. They are now asking for help from the regional government. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A girl walks with the help of her father in Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul — A girl walks with the help of her father at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in capital Kabul. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

Afghan girls in classroom in Herat. — Afghan girls participate in a lesson at Tajrobawai Girls High School in Herat. Taliban government officials say their rule will be different, including allowing education for all girls, and have called on the international community to release funds and help stave off a humanitarian disaster. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A boy carries bread in Herat, Afghanistan — International funding to Afghanistan has been suspended and billions of dollars of the country’s assets abroad, mostly in the US, were frozen after the Taliban took control of the country in August. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A woman holds her 4-month-old baby at Children's Hospital in Kabul — Saliha holds her four-month-old baby Najeeb as he undergoes treatment at the malnutrition ward of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A young girl stands outside her home in Kamar Kalagh village near Herat — The lack of funding has battered Afghanistan’s already troubled economy, leading to increasing poverty while aid groups warn of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A family warms up next to a makeshift fire in Herat, Afghanistan — A family warms up next to a makeshift fire outside the Directorate of Disaster office where they are camped, in Herat. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

A child looks out a window of his home in Kabul — A child looks out a window of his home in a neighbourhood where many internally displaced people have been living for years, in Kabul. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]

Women queue to receive cash at a money distribution site organised by the WFP in Kabul — Women queue to receive cash at a money distribution site organised by the World Food Programme in Kabul. [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo]