The World Food Program (WFP) said that it will provide critical food assistance to more than 1.3 million acutely food insecure people across the country for up to one year through the funding which it received from the Asian Development Bank.
Earlier, the Asian Development Bank announced that it approved $400 million in grants to protect the welfare and livelihoods of vulnerable Afghan people, particularly women and girls, and ease the adverse impact of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The ADB added that a $100 million grant will go to the WFP.
The UN’s Food Agency meanwhile welcomed the contribution by the Asian Development Bank and said that a “special focus will be on widow- and women-headed households and other highly vulnerable groups like people with disabilities or families surviving solely on begging.”
This comes as the World Bank in its recent report highlighted the Afghan economic conditions in its recent report.
The World Bank said that the Afghan economy is expected to hover around no-growth territory this year.
Melinda Good, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan said in the report that “Afghanistan’s economy is fragile, relies heavily on external support and its private sector is weak.”
An economist, Mir Shikib Mir, said that humanitarian assistance is important but cannot have a significant influence on the economic conditions.
“Humanitarian assistance is important to alleviate the humanitarian crisis but it cannot have a significant impact on the reduction of poverty in the country,” he said.
This comes as the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines (ACIM) said that there is a need for the lifting of sanctions on the Afghan economy sector.
Reaching stability and economic growth can be earned through investment in infrastructure. The international community should take responsible steps in easing sanctions and the release of our country’s assets,” said Abdul Rahman Habib, a spokesman for the MoE.
