GENEVA: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has revealed the number of Afghans living in poverty has risen to a staggering 34 million, nearly double the previous year’s estimate of 19 million.
According to the latest report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the drastic increase is largely due to the collapse of the US-backed government in 2021 and the subsequent Taliban takeover, which led to the halt of foreign subsidies and aid programmes.
Furthermore, many countries refused to deal with the Taliban authorities in Kabul, and in December 2021, the Taliban government ordered that Afghan women be barred from working for NGOs providing vital aid.
The order was later extended to the UN’s Afghan female employees, forcing the organisation to make an “appalling choice” over continuing its aid programmes.
The UN’s Afghanistan appeal has thus far raised only 5% of its $4.6 billion goal for 2023. Afghanistan risks falling off a cliff edge into the abyss if foreign aid is reduced, according to the UNDP resident representative in Afghanistan, Abdallah Al Dardari.
The UN airlifts huge sums of US dollars into Afghanistan to pay salaries and operating costs, which have also been crucial in shoring up Afghanistan’s faltering economy. Between December 2021 and January 2023, approximately $1.8 billion was imported this way, according to the United Nations (UN) mission in Afghanistan.
UN restricts its work owing to Taliban government restrictions
However, suppose the UN winnows down its work owing to the Taliban government restrictions. In that case, it will have the double effect of reducing aid and cutting a vital economic lifeline for desperate Afghans.
Since the Taliban took over, there has been a slew of creeping curbs on women’s freedoms, including the ban of teenage girls from schools and women pushed out of several government jobs.
In a wide-ranging public statement before the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada stated that “the development of Afghanistan is the responsibility of Afghans” and “we should not rely on others.”
The UN’s report paints a grim picture of life under Taliban rule, with some Afghans compelled to sell their land, homes, or assets that generate income.
There is no current census data available for Afghanistan, but the United Nations (UN) uses a population estimate of around 40 million, meaning 85% of the nation is estimated to be in poverty.
The UN has warned that restrictions may turn off the aid tap at the source, with donors wary of committing cash to projects that cannot be implemented.
