Meanwhile in Afghanistan : Shared by Niloufar Pourzand

 

Meanwhile in Afghanistan...
UAI Comms
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Summary

The article highlights how Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis remains largely ignored amid other global conflicts, despite severe and worsening conditions after more than four decades of war, occupation, and corrupt governance.

Even without active large-scale fighting, “economic warfare” — including the freezing of Afghanistan’s external reserves by the US and European allies — has deepened poverty. By 2020, over 55% of Afghans were impoverished, a figure projected to rise to 72% due to ongoing economic contraction, structural inequality, and corruption.

On the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to Kabul, UNDP reports that 90% of Afghan households have faced economic shocks in 2024, with most cutting back on basic needs. UNICEF estimates 3.5 million young children suffer from wasting, and WFP warns that 10 million Afghans could face hunger this summer. Forced returns from Iran, Pakistan, and deportations from Europe are adding to the strain.

Donor nations, including the US, UK, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and Belgium, have cut humanitarian aid sharply since 2021, despite rising needs. Sanctions on Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), prevent the printing of new currency, causing a liquidity crisis that impacts the cash-dependent population. The article calls for recapitalizing DAB, allowing monitored currency printing, and releasing frozen Afghan assets, including interest from the $3.5 billion held in the Afghan Fund in Switzerland.

UAI urges the adoption of people-centered, sustainable development policies to alleviate the compounded effects of imposed economic restrictions and long-standing hardships.

Quotes

“Economic warfare, associated with the seizure of the country’s sovereign external reserves, deepens poverty and deprivation.”

“Nine in ten households reported cutting back on basic needs.” — UNDP

“Some 10 million Afghans could face hunger this summer.” — WFP

“Sanctions on the DAB not only cratered the economy but continue to punish the poor.”

“Mobilizing a print order for fresh afghani bank notes would be a relatively small task for the Fund but a hugely useful and helpful step for millions of impoverished Afghans.”