Afghans living in the country go through a lot of hardships daily. Living conditions for families in Afghanistan are still difficult, as two-thirds of families struggle to meet basic food and non-food needs, according to a new World Bank survey published on Tuesday, November 22.
This survey, the ‘Afghanistan Welfare Monitoring Survey’, which was conducted between June and August 2022 aimed to assess the changes in the basic living conditions in Afghanistan one year after the onset of the political crisis.
Overall, the survey paints a grim picture of living conditions in Afghanistan as widespread deprivation continues and food insecurity remains high, negatively impacting the economy and the welfare of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, the World Bank added.
“It is deeply concerning to see that a majority of Afghan households continue to face enormous economic difficulties and that access to education—especially for girls—remains severely constrained,” said Melinda Good, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan.
Melinda Good continued to add, “There is an urgent need for the interim Taliban administration to take tangible steps to improve food security and livelihoods, maintain basic health services, and ensure that the private sector can play a role to create jobs for the many Afghans, particularly young people, who are unemployed.”
Melinda Good emphasized, “Without this, the welfare of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, remains at risk.”
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, unemployment and poverty in the country peaked, and the foreign assistance rate decreased. The statistics from international organizations show that more than 97of Afghan people are below the poverty line and need help to get through the cold winter ahead.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recently announced that almost 20 million people in Afghanistan currently do not have access to enough food, and more than 24 million people need immediate humanitarian aid.