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One fifth of starving Afghan families sending children out to work

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2022

(Last Updated On: February 14, 2022)

Up to one-fifth of families in Afghanistan have been forced to send their children out to work as incomes have plummeted in the past six months with an estimated one million children now engaged in child labour, according to new Save the Children research.

A survey of 1,400 households across seven provinces of Afghanistan found that 82% of Afghans have lost income since the collapse of the former government and transition of power last August, with 18% reporting they had no choice but to send their children out to work.

According to Save the Children’s analysis, if just one child in each of these families is being sent to work, then more than one million children in the country are engaged in child labour.

More than 80% of those surveyed reported a loss of income, with a third (34.8%) having lost all of their household income, and a quarter (26.6%) having lost more than half. Families living in cities were hit hardest, with half of families in Kabul saying they had lost their entire income.

The huge spike in prices caused by the economic crisis has left many families unable to afford food. About 36% of families reported that they are purchasing food in the market on credit, whereas 24% said they did previously. Thirty-nine percent are borrowing food from better-off families, compared to just 25% previously.

As families sink further into debt and poverty, 7.5% said they were begging or relying on charity to feed their families.

Last month, Save the Children reported that the number of dangerously malnourished children visiting its health clinics had more than doubled since August.

Save the Children’s Country Director in Afghanistan, Chris Nyamandi, said:

“I’ve never seen anything like the desperate situation we have here in Afghanistan. We treat frighteningly ill children every day who haven’t eaten anything except bread for months. Parents are having to make impossible decisions – which of their children do they feed? Do they send their children to work or let them starve? These are excruciating choices that no parent should have to make.

“There is no shortage of food here – the markets are full. Yet children are starving to death because their parents can’t afford to pay for food. This could, and should, have been prevented. But it is not too late to prevent further tragedy if we act now.

“We’re doing everything we can to get families the help they need. But the truth is that humanitarian aid can only go so far. This is an economic crisis, and it needs an economic solution. Governments must find a way to unlock vital funds and unfreeze financial assets to prevent the crisis from spiralling any further.”

Save the children is providing families with urgent cash assistance and winter kits with essential items to get them through the winter. Cash assistance helps to prevent families from resorting to desperate measures that adversely affect children such as child labour, early marriage and reduced meals.

Since September 2021, Save the Children has reached 763,000 people, including 430,800 children, and provided more than 127,000 people with multi purposes cash transfers and cash for food.

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IEA sets up delegation over Badakhshan protests

Published

46 mins ago

May 5, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 5, 2024)

The Islamic Emirate has announced the appointment of a delegation headed by Chief of the Army Staff Fasihuddin Fitrah, amid protests in Badakhshan province over the killing of a local resident by security forces during poppy crackdown.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, emphasized in a statement that the decree banning poppy cultivation extends to all regions without exception.

“Regrettably, there have been incidents where offenders attempted to attack the security forces involved in the fight against poppy cultivation, resulting in tragic events,” he said.

The delegation includes Shamsuddin Shariati, the head of overseeing and monitoring directives and commands, Mullah Abdul Haq, deputy minister of narcotics control, Mullah Rahmatullah Najib, deputy general director of intelligence, and Abdul Momin, chairman of the Badakhshan Ulema Council.

Darayem district of Badakhshan has seen protests against the Islamic Emirate in recent days.

The Ministry of Interior has confirmed that one of the local people was killed in a clash with the forces tasked to destroy poppy fields in the district.

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Terrorist threats to US interests from Afghanistan, Pakistan steadily rising: USIP

Published

15 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 4, 2024)

Following the concerns over terrorist threats from Afghanistan, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) says in a report that terrorist threats against US interests from Afghanistan and Pakistan are steadily rising.

The report stated that “Afghanistan presents growing space for terrorist groups compared to the period before the U.S. withdrawal.”

“ISIS-K [Daesh] presents a rising threat with reach beyond the immediate region, greater than during the pre-withdrawal period,” the report reads.

It added that “The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group has also returned as a regional security threat.”

“The study group’s final report evaluated and put forth policy options to mitigate terrorist threats and safeguard U.S. interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while maintaining the current focus on strategic competition,” the report added.

“Unfortunately, the geography of Afghanistan and the relations of terrorist groups in the region have caused the countries of the region and the world to express concern about possible challenges. The Islamic Emirate should take measures to form an inclusive government so that the spirit of the regional fight against terrorism is practically strengthened and launched,” said a military expert.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate has called the report “baseless” and said that it has no relationship with al-Qaeda and that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan.

IEA’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fetrat added that there is no terrorist group in Afghanistan and the government does not allow Afghan soil to be used against other countries.

“The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against the interests of countries. Once again, we assure the countries of the world and the region that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against their interests, nor is Afghanistan a threat to them,” Fetrat stressed.