By Tsion Weldetsadik
LIA Intern, Summer 2022

Food Crisis, Economic Crisis, and Modern Afghan History

This week, the world marked the one-year anniversary of the end of the twenty-year old war in Afghanistan. August 15th also marked one year since the Taliban took control of Kabul after intensified attacks on the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and seizure of multiple previously government-controlled provinces. By July 2021, the United States had left behind only about 650 U.S. troops to protect the U.S. embassy and its diplomats (AP News). The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan came after a war that spanned two decades and five U.S. presidential terms, and that claimed over 200,000 lives in the Afghanistan and Pakistan war zone (Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs).

“We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety,” President Biden declared in his August 2021 remarks. Among these were approximately 80,000 Afghan citizens, many of whom worked with the U.S. military during its operation in Afghanistan.  Over 70,000 of these Afghans have been brought to the United States where they await legal residential status. The picture, however, is grimmer for those left behind.

The Taliban’s return to power since September 2021, has hindered various aspects of social and economic life in Afghanistan. From girls' education to freedom of speech and expression, a Taliban-led government has meant the acute restriction of pivotal elements necessary for a healthy democratic society. Yet, an even more onerous obstacle stands at the doorsteps of millions of Afghans: A hunger crisis.

Drought, COVID-19, Economic Sanctions Threaten Food Security for Afghans

A widespread drought that began in early 2022, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic and severe economic sanctions, has escalated the issue of food insecurity and the resulting malnutrition of millions of children in the country. Afghanistan, like many developing nations in the world, relies on agriculture to support its economy. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that an estimated 80 percent of all livelihoods depend on farming and herding. The organization recognizes that food security is achieved “when all people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2002). Having been ranked 99th out of the 107 countries evaluated in the Global Hunger Index in 2020, Afghanistan was thus facing an alarming increase in food insecurity. Under the leadership of former president Ashraf Ghani, affording a nutritious diet was already nearly impossible for most Afghans, with about 90 percent of the population making less than $2 a day and facing sharp inflation in food prices (Congressional Research Service). 

Natural disasters including droughts and floods in recent years on top of the COVID-19 pandemic have also weakened the agricultural sector, endangering the livelihoods and survival of millions of Afghans. The most recent drought, now in its second year affecting 25 out of 34 provinces, has resulted in an estimated 20 percent decrease in wheat harvest compared to the previous year (The Diplomat). Due to several droughts and floods that occurred in the past several years, the World Food Program (WFP) details that 40 percent of crops have been lost which heavily limits food availability. The outbreak of the coronavirus and the resulting worldwide lockdowns impacted both employment and food supply chains within the country. With many jobs lost, delays and breakdowns in supply chains, and soaring food prices, the fall of the central government made a grave economic crisis in Afghanistan even more imminent.

Crippling Economic Sanctions on Afghanistan Continue

Furthermore, the Taliban, since coming to power, have banned the production and sale of opium or poppy crops. The illicit opium trade had provided a means for Afghan farmers to support their families for decades. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the production of opiates made up 14% of the country’s GDP, valued around $2 billion in 2021. For innumerable Afghan farmers who are not able to cultivate alternative crops due to soil and irrigation problems, the banning of opium without effective employment alternatives only worsens the economic crisis the country continues to face.

As the international community came to the disappointing realization of the reality in Kabul last August, countries, mostly led by the U.S., resorted to economic sanctions. Prior to the fall of Afghanistan, the country relied heavily on foreign aid, which composed an astonishing 80% of its GDP. The Taliban, having been designated as a terrorist organization in the late ‘90s, had sanctions imposed on them by both state and international entities. However, the Taliban are no longer just terrorists- they are now Afghan government officials who occupy senior-level positions. Because neither the United Nations, nor any UN member state recognized these Taliban members as legitimate state actors, this effectively transmits the existing sanctions to the offices held by said individuals. A major institution affected by this is the Afghan Central Bank.   

After the takeover by the Taliban, the U.S. and other international financial institutions and banks such as the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, revoked the credentials of the Central Bank. Consequently, the bank is no longer able to access grants or other foreign transactions. It has also lost direct access to the $7 billion kept in the US Federal Reserve. The Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) reports that these assets equal 40% of Afghanistan’s economy. On the ground, businessmen like Shoaib Barak, who, in an interview with France 24 shared he is unable to pay his employees with banks restricted cash withdrawals to only $200 per week, are left facing the consequences.

The Taliban's Answer to Hunger and Economic Crisis: "Everything will be just fine".

Beyond the economic impact of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the human cost is gravely increasing. The collapse of the country’s economy has meant that families who were already struggling no longer have the means to feed their children. CEPR reports that an estimated one million Afghan children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Save the Children, in its January 2022 report, concluded that 14 million children are expected to face “life-threatening levels of hunger” this winter. It also reported that in December of last year, 40 severely malnourished children died on their way to get medical assistance in hospitals in the north of the country. 

              This unsettling truth, however, does not seem to have deterred the Taliban from their propaganda campaigns or pushed them to make compromises so the Afghan people can get the help they need from the international community. In a Vice News documentary, Life in the Taliban’s Afghanistan, released in February 2022, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, when asked about how the Taliban is tackling the humanitarian crisis, stated “The problem is that we are new here”. “Everything will be just fine”.

This callous outlook on the part of the Taliban government which refuses to effectively address the life-or-death condition of millions of Afghans and stubbornly characterize issues of women’s rights as “internal affairs” will undoubtedly hinder cooperation or assistance from the international community.   

Afghanistan is a country with a rich history and culture. It is also a country that has been ravaged by ongoing conflict for nearly a half-century. With much of its resources and manpower being directed to these conflicts, many of Afghanistan’s economic and political institutions have been left needing more. 

The Afghan people have been caught in the crossfire with little to no systems of support. As we mark the one-year anniversary, it is crucial that they continue being the focal point when addressing these issues. As for the Taliban government, transparency, accountability, and protection of human rights will be required to gain any international recognition and assistance the people of Afghanistan so desperately need.

About the Author

Tsion Weldetsadik is a rising junior at Hope College where she majors in Political Science with a double minor in Communications and French. She interned with Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates as one of its New Americans Legal Clinic (NALC) interns in Summer 2022. Her interests include international migration, human rights, and regional integration.