International Rescue Committee (IRC)
News, Photos & Video › Following drought crisis, getting food to hungry Afghans

Following drought crisis, getting food to hungry Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan - 02 Feb 2012 -  

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is moving into Afghanistan’s northwest Badghis province, to provide essential humanitarian aid to families in dire need. Badghis, on the border with Turkmenistan, is in the grip of a severe drought, which has left much of the population without enough food.  And the costs for what food there is are climbing. Prices for staples like wheat have increased by as much as 86% in the past year. 

 
During the next six months, the IRC will provide monthly food vouchers to 3,000 families, enabling them to buy food in local markets, and help them avoid going into debt.  “We are providing what is essentially six months of breathing space for many of the neediest families in Badghis,” said Nigel Jenkins, IRC country director in Afghanistan. “We’re hopeful this will carry them through the spring harvest.” And there is reason for hope. Snowfall has been comparatively heavy across much of Afghanistan this winter, which will mean more water for spring planting, in a country plagued by chronic drought.