CALL FOR AID
Drought puts millions of Afghans in urgent need of food — UN
The figure was 'among the highest in the world' and they needed 'the most urgent response'
At least 3-million Afghans are in "urgent" need of food and could face famine if they do not get help, the UN warned on Monday, as the war-torn country battles the worst drought in living memory. A dry spell mainly across northern and western Afghanistan has devastated crops, livestock and water supplies, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The drought comes at a terrible time for the country, which is already grappling with a 17-year conflict and is preparing to hold a parliamentary election that is three years late. The UN is spearheading international efforts to reach 2.5-million of the 3-million most in need of food by mid-December, UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Afghanistan Toby Lanzer said. "Those people are surviving on less than one meal a day and in all likelihood that meal is bread and tea." Lanzer said the 3-million people hardest hit were in the "emergency" phase four of a widely used food insecurity index – one level below famine. The figure was "...
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