59% of Afghans dependenton Intl Aid: IOM

KABUL (ToloNews): Since the Islamic Emirate swept into power, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said “an estimated 24.4 million people – 59 per cent of the population­ in Afghanistan – are dependent on international aid and emergency relief in their day-to-day lives.”
The IOM said in a report which was published on Thursday that nearly all Afghans have fallen into poverty and the country has been facing the risk of systemic collapse since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
“People living in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan are in critical need of emergency aid. Basic service delivery has been severely impacted and development programs have been suspended,” the report said. “Ongoing economic and environmental shocks have led to significant drops in income, shrinking remittance flows, and surging prices for food and other commodities.”
Economists believe that the reliance on foreign aid is a concerning issue for Afghanistan.
“The second point is that the stalling of economic activity, particularly in industry and agriculture, has caused poverty. 65 percent of the service sector is affected,” said Sayed Masoud, an economist.
“If such conditions continue, this could have a negative impact on economic activities: in addition to that, poverty is on rise as it the rate of unemployment,” said Seyar Qureshi, an economist.
The IOM said it has provided humanitarian assistance to 1.3 million Afghans over the past 12 months.