Dozens of families receive aid amid rising poverty in Afghanistan

Aid agencies distributed foodstuffs, blankets and cash to 130 displaced families in Kabul on Thursday amid rising poverty and warnings of starvation in the country.

“People are tired of the situation, there’s no jobs. People are suffering from poverty, conflicts,” said Mohammad Hussain, a displaced man from Panjshir province who received aid.

Around 9 million Afghans are “just one step away from starvation”, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said, adding that 700,000 people – mostly women and children – have been displaced this year alone.

United Nations officials have said the U.N. cannot get enough cash into Afghanistan to deliver humanitarian aid and that it is struggling to develop options to help stabilize the collapsing economy.

Ultimately political solutions are needed, a senior U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, an apparent reference to sanctions relief and for governments and institutions to free up billions of dollars of Afghan assets held overseas.

“It’s a story of hunger, of conflict, of poverty and now winter is coming as well. Afghans need help desperately and quickly,” said Baloch.

Thursday’s distribution was overseen by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Danish aid agency DACAAR.