(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 22 - Afghanistan will face an "absolute catastrophe" with widespread hunger, homeless people and economic collapse unless an urgent humanitarian effort is agreed in the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the country. The alarm to world leaders is Mary-Ellen McGroarty, national director for Afghanistan of the United Nations World Food Program, declaring to the British Observer that swift and coordinated action is essential. "Otherwise, an already horrendous situation will only become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster." continued McGroarty.
"If we are late for the next six or seven weeks, it will start to get too late. People have nothing. We have to bring the food now and bring it to the communities in the provinces, before the roads are blocked by snow," explained the UN official speaking from Kabul. .
McGroarty recalled that one in three Afghans were already starving, with over two million children at risk of malnutrition. The drought had already led to a 40% reduction in grain production, while the Afghan currency was already collapsing. And Covid rates are high. "As everyone around the world has observed, there has been an escalation of the conflict in the past two months: over 500,000 people displaced, 250,000 of them since May", and "what is urgent now is some form of ceasefire that allows a massive increase in the humanitarian response. The humanitarian imperative cannot be lost, "he said. (HANDLE).