(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 12 - A year has passed since the Taliban took power, on August 15, 2021, and Afghanistan is experiencing a crisis that has worsened dramatically in recent months.
Intersos denounces this in a note, in which he underlines that in the country seven million people today live on the verge of hunger;
there is a lack of facilities and health personnel;
The prices of basic necessities have risen by 40% since last August, the currency has drastically lost value against the dollar and the liquidity crisis, together with the cut in international funds, is making it more difficult for humanitarian aid to arrive.
In the first six months of 2022, the provincial hospital of the Afghan province of Zabul - where Intersos workers and health workers work - recorded a 70% increase in the number of malnourished children hospitalized compared to the same period in the previous year: a clear indication of the catastrophic impact that the economic crisis, the freezing of Afghanistan's assets and the suspension of development funding are affecting some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If development funds do not return to Afghanistan and the economy does not receive an urgent boost - warns Intersos - the already overloaded health system will be put on its knees and the hunger crisis that is gripping the nation will bring even more children to the brink of death. .
It encourages donor countries to fully fund the United Nations appeal of $ 4.4 billion for Afghanistan to enable humanitarian workers to respond to the needs of the population.
However, humanitarian assistance alone cannot replace a functioning economy.
For this Intersos asks the international community and the Taliban to find a way to respond to the most urgent needs of the population.
(HANDLE).