Afghanistan After Five Years: shared by Niloufar

The Afghan people are trapped in a "double jeopardy" caused by Taliban repression and punitive international economic policies. Writing for the ISPI (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale) dossier on the five-year mark of Taliban rule, humanitarian experts Antonio Donini and Norah Niland argue that both local decrees and global blockades are manufacturing extreme poverty, devastating the lives of women and children, and dismantling basic social systems. For XUNICEF this analysis highlights a familiar, distressing reality: the institutional collapse of child health, nutrition, and gender equality systems under geopolitical strain. 

🛑 The Core Crisis: Double Jeopardy

• Taliban Repression: Restrictive decrees severely subvert the lives of women and girls, cutting off their freedom of movement, employment opportunities, and formal education beyond age 12. 
• International Punishment: Following the August 2021 US withdrawal, Western donors pulled 75% of government expenditure and froze $9.1 billion in sovereign central bank reserves. This effectively disabled the banking sector, limited inflation management, and choked the general economy.
• The Human Rights Paradox: Formal human rights bodies prioritize civil liberties while largely ignoring the "economic warfare" and collective punishment built into these fiscal freezes.

📉 Severe Consequences for Women and Children

• Dwindling Aid: The international humanitarian appeal is dangerously underfunded, receiving only 42% of its target in 2025 and dropping further by mid-2026.
• Malnutrition Spike: Over 3.7 million children under five face a heightened risk of malnutrition due to inadequate diets and failing infrastructure.
• Maternal and Infant Mortality: Maternal deaths double the global average, with up to 1,200 additional maternal deaths projected by 2028 due to system disruptions. Recent closures of 420 health facilities have triggered a 3% to 4% increase in infant mortality.
• Collapse of Civil Support: Over half of Afghanistan's local, female-led civil organizations face imminent closure or operational suspension due to sudden funding cuts.
• Returnee Influx: Millions of forced returnees from Pakistan and Iran are flooding into the country, over 80% of whom are immediately drowning in household debt without stable employment. 

💡 The Authors' Recommendations

• Release Sovereign Reserves: Western nations must end the arbitrary seizure of central bank funds and inject capital back into the banking system under careful monitoring.
• Empower the Community: Donors must pivot toward funding small-scale, community-based enterprises, climate risk mitigation, and agricultural programs.
• Support Women-Run Initiatives: Focus funding directly on localized, small enterprises run by women that the current regime tolerates, bypassing central macro-political blocks.

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Read The full brief and related reports on the five-year mark can be reviewed directly via the ISPI Afghanistan Hub or the United Against Inhumanity Platform where the co-authors serve as executive committee members.