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More Afghans going hungry, fewer jobs available – World Bank

The number of people in Afghanistan who cannot afford food and other essentials has doubled since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) takeover of the country in August 2021 as unemployment rises and wages fall, a World Bank survey showed on Tuesday.
The Afghanistan Welfare Survey, conducted by phone and covering the October-December 2021 period, found that 70% of respondents said their households were unable to cover basic food and non-food needs, up from 35% in May 2021.
The share of Afghan households switching to lower-quality or less expensive food rose to 85% from 56% in the July-August 2021 period, it found.
Nearly half of households also reported a decline in the number of meals consumed each day, up from around a quarter in July-August 2021.
The World Bank attributed the sharp increase in poverty to overall economic conditions rather than to “specific actions introduced by the interim administration”, citing in particular a decline in public sector jobs.
The IEA authorities still lack international recognition seven months after overrunning Kabul as the last U.S.-led international troops departed, ending 20 years of war.
Donors cut financial aid constituting more than 70% of government expenditures and about $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets were frozen. Many IEA leaders remain under US and UN sanctions.
The United Nations has previously warned that more than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million people face starvation.
The World Bank study found about a fifth of household heads were looking for work in the October-December 2021 period, up from 8% during the same period of 2019, largely due to a decline in jobs in the army, police and other security services.
Despite Western concerns that the IEA would roll back women’s rights, the survey said that nationwide, school attendance among both boys and girls aged 6-18 had risen in October-December 2021 compared to the same period of 2019.
The share of households sending boys to school increased to 73% from 63%, while those sending girls rose to 54% from 44%.
The share of urban households sending girls to school stayed flat at 53%, but households sending girls only to primary school rose to 19% from 5%.
Under their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the IEA barred women and girls from education. They say they have since changed.
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UN renews calls for IEA to reopen schools for girls and women

The United Nations has renewed its call for Afghanistan’s Taliban to immediately reopen schools to teenage girls, saying the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has no justification for denying the right to education on any grounds, including religion or tradition.
“The ongoing unlawful denial of girls and young women’s right to education in Afghanistan marks a global nadir in education, impacting an entire gender, a generation, and the future of the country,” a U.N. panel of experts said this week.
There is no indication the Taliban intend to lift the ban on female education as secondary schools across the South Asian nation reopen later this week after winter break, the statement read.
“Instead, it appears that for the second successive school year, teenage girls will be banned from resuming their studies,” the U.N. panel said, adding that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and young women are barred from receiving an education.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while launching the 2022 Human Rights Report on Monday, renewed Washington’s denunciation of curbs on Afghan women’s access to education and work, VOA reported.
Blinken said the IEA leadership “relentlessly discriminates and represses” Afghan women. He noted the authorities have so far issued 80 decrees that restrict women’s freedom of movement and the right to education and work.
“I’ll say very simply that we deplore the edicts,” Blinken told reporters.
He said the order banning Afghan female employees of nongovernmental organizations from workplaces “imperils” millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for survival.
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Baradar visits Kamal Khan Dam, stresses need to increase water storage capacity

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, visited Kamal Khan Dam in southern Nimroz province on Tuesday and emphasized the need to increase water storage capacity and cleaning up of the surrounding canals.
Baradar discussed solutions to the water issues faced by the people of Nimroz province, including the timely water supply to agricultural lands, his office said in a statement.
The Deputy PM and the accompanying delegation examined the installation of turbines at the dam and provided guidance to the officials on increasing the capacity of water storage, canal cleaning, and overall effective management.
He acknowledged the national importance of the Kamal Khan Dam and commended those responsible for the initiative.
The visit of the delegation to Kamal Khan Dam took place one day before the World Water Day.
Experts say the Islamic Emirate has great opportunities to manage the country’s waters in such a way that the people of Afghanistan benefit the most.
“On behalf of the private sector, we thank the dignitaries who visited the Kamal Khan dam. It is the responsibility of each of us to protect the national assets of our country in order to become self-sufficient like other countries,” said Mirwais Hajizada, an expert on economic affairs.
According to other experts, the country’s water management can get Afghanistan out of economic problems in a short time, and the government should focus on creating water dams.
“Afghanistan is a country that has a lot of agricultural land and relies mostly on agriculture. Therefore, for the lands that need water, if water management is done, it can make Afghanistan self-sufficient in terms of grains, and it can also become an exporting country,” said Kamaluddin Kakar, an economic expert.
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IEA meets Uzbekistan delegation, border issue, security discussed

Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) Minister of National Defense met on Wednesday with Abdulaziz Kamilov, the special representative of the President of Uzbekistan on foreign policy, Asmatullah Rahimov, to discuss a number of issues.
According to the defense ministry, border issues, security and other related matters were discussed and emphasis was placed on strengthening bilateral relations.
Also, Abdulaziz Kamelov, the special representative of Uzbekistan, assured the strengthening of relations with Afghanistan in the fields of security, economy, politics and other issues.
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