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KABUL – Cindy McCain, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), has issued a distressing call for aid as the organization grapples with a critical shortage of funds needed to provide essential assistance to millions of people in Afghanistan. Last week’s earthquakes in Herat have deepened the “unimaginable suffering” of people in the country.
On the occasion of World Food Day, WFP revealed that a staggering 15 million people in Afghanistan are uncertain about where their next meal will come from, representing a third of the population. The Herat Earthquake, which struck recently, has added to an already dire humanitarian crisis, requiring urgent support.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan, has also raised concerns, stating that 318,000 people urgently require humanitarian assistance in the wake of the earthquake, with more than 76,000 being women and girls of reproductive age and over 7,400 currently pregnant. In response to this critical situation, UNFPA has mobilized its partners to provide maternal and newborn care in the affected communities, ensuring safe births.
Last week, two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes devastated large swathes of Herat province, leaving over 1,000 people dead and thousands homeless. On Sunday, another 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the same region, causing further damage.
Cindy McCain emphasized, “WFP is on the ground responding, but funds are stretched thin. We’ve already had to cut life-saving aid for 10 million Afghans, and a bitter winter approaches. We need help. Millions of lives are at risk.”
The situation in Afghanistan remains critical, and urgent funding and support are needed to prevent a worsening of the humanitarian crisis.
