“Dollarization is still prevalent in Afghanistan, and our economy depends on it.” – pronounced Shah Mehrabi who happens to be a former board member of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, now settled in the States. If the figures are to be believed then before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Dollar constituted nearly two-thirds of bank deposits and nearly half of all sanctioned loans.
But as the United States bade its farewell from Afghanistan after two long decades, it swept away nearly all the financial aid from it because in the States’ view Taliban do not hold any legitimate authority over Afghanistan. Moreover, owing to its terrorist connotations and the dark past, Biden led the US government along with the international economic assistance providers namely the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to freeze and withdraw their assets off the Taliban-ruled Afghan land.
Ultimately, Afghanistan which was not yet relieved from the trauma brought in by the novel Taliban regime in terms of human rights violation, staunch religious orthodoxy, and sexist initiatives, is today struggling with its already staggering economy, leading to the emergence of a humanitarian catastrophe, the giant wave of which is feared to engulf the entire Afghan population.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reveals that the figures of internally displaced Afghan people nearly doubled within a month, appropriating 206906 more internal refugees, complicating the situation even further is the fact that a majority of this figure is constituted by women and children. At present, the total figure stands at 570482.
Following the painful picture of people struggling to find a safe roof, another implication of this humanitarian crisis is the inability of about one-third of the Afghan population to satisfy their hunger who are forced to starve themselves. Of the 38 million total Afghan population, nearly two million children are malnourished and are fighting invisible individual battles with food security, life, and death. Afghanistan is facing acute food shortages at present owing to the massive crop failure due to consecutive droughts. Thus, it is unable to provide food security to its citizens, making this humanitarian catastrophe much more severe.
Been severely wounded by the legacy of hosting numerous wars, Afghanistan has already been grappling with widespread poverty but after the coronavirus outbreak and the Taliban takeover, the percentage went as high as 72, a proportion that today lives below the poverty line, making Afghanistan one of the poorest countries on the globe. The food prices are constantly on a rising spree and unfortunately so is the figure of the ones dying of starvation.
To add, the entire Afghan land is all set to step into an era of darkness and vacuum devoid of any trace of electricity. This is major because the Taliban regime has failed to clear the bills from the Central Asian Electricity Suppliers and even to collect the electricity bills from the consumers.
This implication of the already commenced humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan assumes an even graver dimension, given the approaching harsh winters, generally ruthless in the Afghan Land. “There will be blackouts and it will bring Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages when it comes to power and telecommunications.” – stated Mr Noorzai, who remains in close contact with the electricity management board.
With the fear of approaching harsh winters, the World Food Programme appeals to the international donors to accumulate at least $200 million to appropriate the necessary stock needed by the Afghan population before the annual climatic misery sets in. It is apprehended that with the inability of food distribution and transportation system during the chilly winters along with the incompetent Taliban regime, Afghanistan is all set to ride the crest of a severe humanitarian crisis, one that has never been witnessed.
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