Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World released the following statement in response to the rising hunger in Afghanistan. Bread welcomes the U.S. Treasury’s announcement today of actions to better enable the provision of humanitarian assistance and support to reach the Afghan people, and the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous adoption of a resolution doing the same.
“Bread for the World is deeply concerned about the escalating hunger crisis in Afghanistan caused by conflict, drought, and economic policies. The people of Afghanistan are facing rising food and fuel prices, food shortages, and a breakdown of public services. One million Afghan children are at risk of starvation and death,” said Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO.
To avert the deaths of millions of children from malnutrition, more urgent action is needed. The United States should work with its global partners to fully fund the World Food Programme’s $2.6 billion humanitarian appeal for the country, where humanitarian needs have tripled and close to 23 million people, more than half the population, face extreme hunger.
Bread also urges the U.S. government to explore all possible foreign policy options to address the hunger crisis in Afghanistan, including common-sense economic policies that both protect our national security and alleviate the severe consequences facing the Afghan people. Our government must not support or undertake actions that hinder the well-being of civilian populations.
“We must not withhold good from those whom it is due, when it is in our power to act (Prov. 3:27),” said Cho. “It is incumbent upon the United States to do everything in its power, including providing humanitarian assistance and putting in place economic policies that will avert the further deepening of the Afghan hunger crisis.”
