85% Afghans live on less than one dollar a day: UNDP

KABUL (Agencies): The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in a report said that Afghans are dealing with extreme hardship, and approximately 85 percent of them live on less than one dollar a day. The situation became markedly worse after August 2021, particularly for women, who are now facing severe restrictions that bar them from education and most jobs, the
report said.
It’s stated in the report that the latest UNDP research indicates that the real GDP of Afghanistan has declined by 29 percent since 2020 and continues to spiral downward. The restrictions on women’s rights alone are estimated to have caused an economic loss between US$600 million and $1 billion. According to the report, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja, said: “We focus on direct support to women-owned businesses, job creation, basic social services, renewable energy and disaster risk management to keep local economies running, ensure food and energy security, improve people’s wellbeing and protect them from disasters.”
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from. The World Food Programme (WFP) in a report said that it urgently needs $670 million to reach 15.2 million men, women and children with lifesaving food, nutrition, and livelihood support.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said: “WFP warns that every province in the country is currently in crisis or worse levels of food insecurity. Previously, large-scale and sustained donor contributions helped carry millions of Afghans through two difficult winters and pulled back more than 5 million people from the brink of famine.”
The Ministry of Economy said that it is trying to solve the economic challenges by attracting investment and supporting domestic production and small businesses in the country. The spokesman of the Ministry of Economy, Abdul Rahman Habib, told TOLOnews: “The Islamic Emirate tries to bring about employment and work opportunities and the gradual reduction of poverty through the coherence of national policies and programs.” Earlier, The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that 23.7 million people–more than half of Afghanistan’s population–will require humanitarian assistance to survive in 2024 as the country continues to reel from decades of war and grapple with climate-induced crises, recurrent natural disasters, entrenched poverty, and barriers to women’s participation in public life.