The number of starving men, women and children in Afghanistan has increased by three million in one year.
More than 17 million are already suffering from malnutrition to a degree that threatens their health. The data comes from the UN's World Food Programme. It warns that the harsh winter months are particularly dangerous for the lives of malnourished children.
"We are open to cooperation with international organisations", said Abdul Latif Nazari, Afghanistan's deputy economy minister in the Taliban government. "However, this cooperation must be based on mutual respect." Nazari denies that the Taliban are to blame for the current situation. "We have achieved a lot in the last four years and we want to strengthen the country economically in the long term."
Agreements with authoritarian states and pushing back donors
The Taliban claim to pursue an economically oriented foreign policy and have concluded cooperation agreements with countries such as the UAE, Turkey, Iran, China, Russia and India.
With the most important international donors for humanitarian and development projects from the period before their return to power in 2021 - especially the US and the EU - no agreements have been reached so far.
They tie their support to requirements such as respect for human rights, especially women's rights, as well as the formation of a government in which all ethnic groups are represented. The Taliban disagree and continue to systematically exclude women from education, the labor market, and public life.
According to Minister Latif Nazari, a political scientist in education, the Taliban's main goal is to promote local production and employment, as well as strengthen the economy through the export of organic agricultural products.
Nazari refers to the World Food Organization's warnings as a prediction: "In all countries where the economy relies heavily on agriculture, the winter months are a challenge because there are fewer food products. If there is enough rain this year, we can expect a good harvest next year."
Climate change aggravates the situation
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has been further dramatically exacerbated by climate change. Persistent drought, extreme heat, floods and unpredictable weather events have had a major impact on agricultural production. About 40 million people are affected, more than 80 percent of whom depend directly on agriculture.
Crop failures and livestock losses are exacerbating hunger and poverty, especially in rural areas. According to international organizations, Afghanistan is among the countries most affected by the consequences of climate change, although the country contributes almost no to global harmful emissions.
Average household incomes have fallen by an additional 13 percent in the past 12 months, according to UN data. A large part of the population can no longer manage economically on their own.
Experts such as Qais Mohammadi generally assess the Taliban's economic plans positively, but point out that in the short term - over the next five to seven years - the situation is unlikely to improve. Therefore, the country and its population will continue to need urgent humanitarian assistance.
"More than 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line," Mohammadi told DW. "At the same time, Afghanistan must accept millions of people who are returning to their homeland empty-handed. Many of them are homeless, malnourished and have no access to medical care."
As of mid-2023, about three million refugees from Afghanistan have been forced to return. Official data shows that neighboring countries Pakistan and Iran have each sent about 1.5 million people back to Afghanistan. And they are returning to a country that offers neither basic services nor real prospects for the future.
Aid is declining despite growing needs
As the crisis continues to worsen, international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan is declining.
"We must stand with the people of Afghanistan for whom aid is vital, and implement solutions that enable them to recover with hope, dignity and prospects," stressed John Ayliffe, Afghanistan Country Director for the World Food Programme.
For the first time in years, however, the program is unable to provide enough winter assistance and scale up support for people in need nationwide. The UN World Food Program urgently needs $468 million to provide the six million most vulnerable people with essential food to survive the winter.
Author: Shabnam von Hein