Afghanistan¡¯s Currency Crisis Leaves Millions At The Risk Of Starvation

Ever since the Taliban seized power, Afghanistan¡¯s currency has gone on to plummet, which has only exacerbated the economic crisis. Things have gone from bad to worse.

The currency crisis is leaving millions of people at the risk of starvation, with the humanitarian crisis impacting not only Afghanistan's people but even the import-dependent countries.

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The Currency¡¯s Downfall

Besides the Turkish currency Lira that has been tumbling due to the unorthodox economic policy of its President, the Afghani currency has become one of the worst-performing currencies in the world in the last six months.

If we look back at the past 5 months or so, 1 Afghan Afghani was equal to 0.95 Indian Rupee and 0.013 US Dollar on August 14, 2021, whereas, at present (value as of January 16, 2022), 1 Afghan Afghani¡¯s value has dropped to being equal to just 0.71 Indian Rupee and 0.0095 US Dollar.

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The UN¡¯s Statement

The United Nations (UN) has appealed for humanitarian aid of $4.4bn (?3.2bn) for Afghanistan.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said "We go into 2022 with unprecedented levels of need amongst ordinary women, men, and children of Afghanistan. 24.4 million people are in humanitarian need - more than half the population,"

The UN also highlighted that on top of this economic and humanitarian crisis, Afghanistan is now in the midst of one of its worst droughts in several decades.

Also Read: Why Is Cash On The Verge Of Disappearing in Afghanistan?

Taliban¡¯s ¡®Food For Work¡¯ Program

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A few days back, the Taliban said it is expanding its Food for Work Programme, in which the donated wheat, which is otherwise meant to be distributed amongst the needy, will be used to pay tens of thousands of public sector workers.

This latest announcement by the Taliban, indicating usage of humanitarian funds for paying its government workers, has clearly underlined the financial crisis engulfing the country.

Even as some humanitarian aid has still continued after the Taliban takeover, millions of people are still starving as the aid is not reaching them.

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Taliban Official¡¯s Statement

Previously, the wheat which was mostly donated by India to the former US-backed Afghan government is now being used by the Taliban to pay around 10kg of wheat a day to its 40,000 government workers, as per the country's agriculture officials¡¯ statement.

The officials also added that the ¡®Food for work¡¯ program, which was mostly focused to pay labourers in the capital Kabul, will be expanded across the country.

According to the Deputy Minister of Administration and Finance at Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, the Taliban has already taken delivery of 18 tonnes of wheat from Pakistan with a promise of another 37 tonnes, and is in talks with India over 55 tonnes more.

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The USA¡¯s Aid

The Biden administration has reportedly said that it would provide another $308m in humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, which brings the total amount of US aid for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in the region to almost $782m since October 2021.

The White House further stated that the aid was aimed to alleviate the suffering caused by the pandemic and ¡®drought, malnutrition, and the winter season¡¯.

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