Last Update: January 19, 2023, 20:59 IST
Nearly 77,000 livestock have also died in the past nine days, threatening to deepen the country’s food insecurity (File image: Reuters)
Many aid groups have partially suspended operations in recent weeks due to a decision by the Taliban that most female NGO workers cannot work, leaving agencies unable to operate many programs in the conservative country.
At least 78 people have died from the cold Afghanistan during the country’s worst winter in more than a decade, officials said Thursday.
Eight of the country’s 34 provinces have recorded deaths from the cold, officials said.
The coldest winter in 15 years, with temperatures plunging to -34 °C (-29.2 °F), has hit Afghanistan amid a severe economic crisis.
Several aid groups have partially suspended operations in recent weeks due to a ruling by the Taliban that most female NGO workers cannot work, leaving agencies unable to operate many programs in the conservative country. Huh.
“The weather will get colder in the next few days, so it is necessary to consider humanitarian aid for the affected people,” said Abdullah Ahmadi, head of the Emergency Situations Operations Center at the Ministry of Disaster Management.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said last week that restrictions on women workers were hindering efforts to deliver aid.
It added, “Humanitarian partners are providing families with cooling aid, including cash for heating, fuel and warm clothing, but … distribution has been severely affected by restrictions on female NGO aid workers.”
Even in early winter, health workers reported a sharp increase in the number of young children suffering from severe cases of pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses, partly due to rising poverty, which forced people to leave their homes. were unable to heat properly.
Nearly 77,000 livestock have also died in the past nine days, threatening to deepen the country’s food insecurity.
“The loss of livelihood and assets further threatens Afghan families at a time when 21.2 million people are in urgent need of sustained food and agricultural assistance,” UNOCHA said on Twitter.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)