UN: 6M Afghans At Risk Of Famine
On Mon., the UN warned that poverty in Afghanistan is worsening, with 6M people on the brink of famine, and called on donors to resume development funding.
Facts
- On Mon., the UN warned that poverty in Afghanistan is worsening, with 6M people on the brink of famine, and called on donors to resume development funding.
- In preparation for the upcoming winter months, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths called for $770M in immediate aid for Afghanistan, which he said is facing a humanitarian, economic, climatic, famine, and financial crisis.
- With more than half of the 39M Afghans in need of aid, Griffiths said, the dire situation has been exacerbated by the freezing of large-scale funding to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power.
- Humanitarian aid, however, isn't enough to support Afghanistan's economy and development, he said. The country's banking and liquidity crisis also need to be addressed.
- On Mon., Russia and China accused the US and its allies of being responsible for the crises by "abandoning the Afghan people" and freezing development aid and Afghan foreign assets. The US rejected the accusations, stressing that Washington was the world's leading donor to Afghanistan.
- In Feb., US Pres. Biden announced that half of the frozen $7B held on US soil would be used to tackle Afghanistan's economic and humanitarian crisis However, earlier this month, the Biden admin. reportedly suspended talks and stated that none of the funds would be released.
Sources: Al Jazeera, ABC, Times Of Israel, and Improve the News.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Politico. It's not surprising that Afghanistan, under Taliban leadership, is facing an economic and humanitarian catastrophe as they have no understanding of financial markets or how to run an economy. Incompetence and draconian policies mean that foreign aid and investment won't actually solve Afghan's economic problems.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by LA Progressive. The 20-year imperialist, US-led NATO war against Afghanistan didn't end last year - it's being continued by other means. Not only with special forces, but also through sanctions, and the associated theft of Afghan central bank assets. Afghanistan's humanitarian and economic disaster is a direct result of a US policy that seeks to maintain control.
