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Hunger in Afghanistan: Time to work with the Taliban?

Some 23 million people face acute food insecurity just 100 days after the Taliban's return to power.

It has been 100 days since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan and the country is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. More than half of the country’s 39 million people face acute food insecurity as prices skyrocket. Severe drought, the pandemic and the damage caused by decades of war have all helped to bring the economy to its knees. With winter approaching the World Food Programme has warned that Afghans are at risk of being isolated from life-saving assistance. Previously international aid represented around 40% of the country’s GDP, but since the Taliban takeover the World Bank, the IMF, and the United States have cut off access to more than $9.5 billion in foreign reserves and loans. With the banking system frozen, aid organisations are struggling to pay their staff on the ground and calls for the United States and its allies to ease sanctions are growing. The international community is now asking itself whether it is possible to prevent the Afghan people from starving while at the same time minimising any benefits to a repressive Taliban leadership.

Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.
Producers: Junaid Ahmed, Paul Schuster and Marie Sina.

Available now

49 minutes

Last on

Sat 27 Nov 2021 04:06GMT

Contributors

Hosna Jalil - Former deputy minister for women’s affairs in Afghanistan

Jan Egeland - Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council

Torek Farhadi - Afghan economist who's worked for the World Bank and the IMF

Also featuring …

Abdul Qahar Balkhi -Β  Spokesman for the Taliban-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan

Photo

An internally displaced Afghan child seen in a camp in Balkh, Afghanistan on November 13, 2021 – Credit: Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Broadcasts

  • Fri 26 Nov 2021 10:06GMT
  • Sat 27 Nov 2021 00:06GMT
  • Sat 27 Nov 2021 04:06GMT

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