In Afghanistan, Taliban plans to expand 'food for work' scheme to combat crisis

Amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the Taliban government has decided to widely roll out its "food for work" program, which is used as a wage for thousands of workers on a daily basis. Ever since the hardline Islamist group took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, the country has been witnessing a massive chaotic situation and is not on the brink of being pushed into famine. The "food for work" programme comes after the United Nations appealed for urgent humanitarian aid worth USD 4.4 billion for Afghanistan and emphasised that funds are needed as more than half the population of the war-torn country is in need.

"We go into 2022 with unprecedented levels of need amongst ordinary women, men, and children in Afghanistan. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 24.4 million people are in humanitarian need, more than half the population, "said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Afghanistan crisis: Taliban plans to expand food for work programme

It is important to mention here that, from the healthcare sector to education and finance, Afghanistan is facing an extreme crisis of every resource with each passing day. The Taliban government in Kabul has also asked the international community to help them get out of the crisis and asked the US to unfreeze its assets worth USD 9.5 billion. After the Taliban came into power, all international donors stopped sending aid to the country, while the banking sector of Afghanistan is also struggling to revive its financial operations. 

However, several countries have provided humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, but it has not been able to prevent hundreds of thousands of Afghans from starving. Earlier, India used to send wheat supplies to Afghanistan when the country was ruled by the US-backed Ashraf Ghani government. The Taliban government is now using the same wheat to pay around 40,000 workers, who get 10 kg of wheat in return for daylong labour. The programme was initially started for labourers working only in Kabul, but now the government there aims to expand the "food for work" programme around the country.

"We have already taken delivery of 18 tonnes of wheat from Pakistan with a promise of another 37 tonnes. We are in talks with India over 55 tonnes more, "said Fazel Bari Fazli, the deputy minister for administration and finance at Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, reported BBC.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration stated that the US would send another $308 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghans. The White House said this aid is being provided with the aim of alleviating famine-like situations caused by pandemics, economic crises, and the winter season.