Afghanistan: USAID Affiliate Warns of Widespread Hunger

Afghanistan is in the midst of a food emergency, according to a relief agency affiliated with the US Agency for International Development. The Church World Service is warning that millions of Afghans are facing serious shortages, and potentially starvation.

The group, in a statement released February 26, said a variety of factors was fueling the crisis, including poor infrastructure, returning refugees and IDPs, as well as the worst drought in decades.

The aid group, which unites 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations in the United States, said it is focusing its immediate relief efforts on residents of three districts of Nangarhar province, three districts of Takhar province and one district in Laghman province. These areas have been some of the hardest hit by drought.