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When the Taliban took over Afghanistan 100 days ago in mid August, the financial aid on which the country depends was frozen. Donor countries are concerned that releasing funds will legitimise Taliban rule and sanction the group for failing to install a representative government and for not letting girls and women gain an education. However, Afghanistan is on the brink of starvation, with almost 23 million people below the poverty line.聽 The Taliban blames the West for the humanitarian crisis and says the world needs to take immediate action to prevent a catastrophe.

Dominik Stillhart is the Operations Director for the International Committee of the Red Cross. He says that the economy has contracted by as much as 40%, with medical and public sector staff going unpaid, and that malnutrition is up 30% compared to last year in the area of southern Afghanistan that he has recently visited. He believes that the suspension of aid and freezing of assets is pushing the country into a humanitarian crisis and that many Afghan people he has met feel abandoned by the interntional community. He accuses the world of turning its back on Afghanistan as its people face severe malnutrition. He thinks that discussions with the Taliban should be held and a middle ground found, to ensure that ordinary people can access vital services.

Photo: A mother and baby at the malnutrition ward in Kabul hospital, Afghanistan, October 2021 Credit: Reuters