World Bank report warns Afghanistan faces high risk of 'overlapping food and debt crisis'

Ever since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, last year, the UN agencies and the international community has been expressing concern over the hardships being faced by the country's citizens. A recent report by the World Bank has revealed that Afghanistan is facing a massive humanitarian crisis and a risk of overlapping food and debt crisis which can have a "devastating impact", ANI reported. The World Bank has said that international assistance for Afghanistan is the only solution to address the situation. 

"Overlapping debt and food crises can have devastating impacts, with international assistance the only solution," the World Bank report stated.

Several analysts have claimed that lack of investments is one of the reasons responsible for the rising economic problems in Afghanistan, as per the ANI report. The World Bank, in its report, stated that seven countries face greater risk of overlapping food and debt crisis and Afghanistan is at the top of that list. The other countries include Eritrea, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Yemen. The World Bank report called for increasing emergency aid to Afghanistan and all the at-risk countries as a possible solution to avert the effect of "overlapping debt and food crisis."

Taliban regime blames US sanctions for economic crisis

Meanwhile, the Taliban has issued a statement in response to the report released by the World Bank. Afghanistan's Ministry of Economy has placed blame on the sanctions imposed by the US for the economic crisis in the war-torn nation. Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, emphasised that Afghanistan will be able to achieve "self-sufficiency" by strengthening infrastructure, modernising agriculture and expanding trade operations. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Musbahuddin Mustaeen, said that drought affected the crops and farmers have suffered due to it. He stressed that drought impacted Afghanistan as well as the rest of the world. 

"Our solutions are based on several components, which are strengthening Afghanistan's infrastructure, second, modernisation of Afghan agriculture, and third, an extension of trade and transit. Through these...components, we can reach self-sufficiency," TOLO News quoted Latif Nazari as saying. 

Economic restrictions causing a catastrophe in Afghanistan: HRW

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said that Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis cannot be addressed until the US and other governments ease restrictions on the war-ravaged nation's banking sector, according to the ANI report. John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, stressed that the intensifying hunger and health crisis in Afghanistan is "urgent." Sifton further stated that economic restrictions have been causing a catastrophe in Afghanistan and hurting the people of Afghanistan. The HRW said that businesses, humanitarian groups and private banks have been highlighting the effect of restrictions on their operations. 

(With inputs from ANI, Image: AP)