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One fifth of starving Afghan families sending children out to work
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.
Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani met with Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi, Minister of State for the Foreign Affairs of Qatar, to discuss bilateral political and economic issues, it was announced on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Interior Ministry, in the meeting the two sides agreed on the expansion and continuation of bilateral cooperation.
Based on the statement, the Qatari official announced that Qatar will stand by the “brother country” of Afghanistan in any situation.
He expressed hope that Afghanistan will strengthen and progress in the political, security and economic fields.
On the other hand, while thanking the Qatari delegation for their good wishes, the Acting Minister of Interior appreciated the efforts of the “brother country” of Qatar regarding Afghanistan.
Sirajuddin Haqqani also thanked the Qatari government for its emergency assistance to flood affected families in Afghanistan.
The visit of the high-level Qatari delegation to Kabul comes as Doha is expected to host the third meeting of special representatives of the countries for Afghanistan on June 30.
Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, has stressed on pressuring the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to lift restrictions on women and girls.
McCaul said at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives that Afghanistan under the rule of the Islamic Emirate is facing a devastating humanitarian crisis.
He emphasized that the “hard fought gains to advance women’s rights and promote democracy were wiped out by President Biden’s decision to unilaterally withdraw.”
“Girls have been banned from attending school beyond sixth grade. Women are banned from working for [non-governmental organizations],” he stated.
McCaul also claimed that the Islamic Emirate has continued to harbor “terrorists”.
According to him, the American taxpayer funded aid is flowing to IEA fighters and loyalists, rather than suffering Afghan women and children.
The Islamic Emirate have previously rejected such remarks.
Officials of the Islamic Emirate have emphasized that the education and work of girls and women is an internal matter and countries should not interfere in it.
They have also said that IEA will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any other country.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Friday welcomed the announcement of Ireland, Spain and Norway that they would recognize a Palestinian state, calling it a “positive step.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the development comes while in addition to the “aggression on the historical land of Palestine, the Zionist occupation is trying to bring a demographic change by committing war crimes and genocide.”
The ministry said that it deems the Palestinian land as “the historical and legitimate right of the Palestinian nation, and strongly condemns the ongoing genocide by the Zionist invaders directed at broader regional instability.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “once again calls on the international community, in particular the Islamic states, to take urgent measures to prevent the ongoing disaster in accordance to their responsibility and the right of defense and freedom of the Palestinian nation,” the statement added.
Ireland, Spain and Norway announced on Wednesday that they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28.
About 144 of the 193 member-states of the United Nations recognise Palestine as a state.
Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7 last year have left more than 35,000 people dead.
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McCaul stresses pressuring IEA to lift bans on Afghan women and girls
Scorching heatwave in India’s Rajasthan kills nine
IEA welcomes Ireland, Spain and Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state
Afghanistan announce T20 World Cup 2024 squad
New Zealand to go ahead with Afghanistan cricket Test
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Afghanistan qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup for first time ever
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Tahawol: SCO’s call for forming inclusive govt in Afghanistan discussed
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Tahawol: Calls for inclusive government in Afghanistan discussed
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