Afghans run into acute food shortages and high prices, UN warns of a crisis as early as October

A day before the UN General Assembly begins its session in New York, the Un Secretary General warned of an imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. A million Afghan children could die if food shortage and the economic crisis in Afghanistan are not addressed immediately, suggested UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Afghans could run out of food before winter arrives, he was quoted by The New York Times as saying.

Guterres said at a UN Conference in Geneva, “After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour.” At the event in Geneva, the international community pledged over $1 billion to help Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been facing a drought from before the political turmoil in the country. NDTV reported that over 50% of the Afghan population had earlier too, depended on international aid for survival.

According to NYT, the World Food Program noted that Afghanistan had lost nearly 40% of its crops and the prices of others have gone up drastically. A survey by the UN agency in August and September had also found that over 90% of the Afghans were “not consuming sufficient food”, said NDTV, because it was either not accessible or affordable.

Guterres said, "Let us be clear: This conference is not simply about what we will give to the people of Afghanistan. It is about what we owe," reported IANS.