Nourish Food Insecure Afghans in Afghanistan

Over half of Afghanistan's population continues to need humanitarian assistance. However, the drastic international funding cuts are causing millions in Afghanistan to not have their basic needs for food met.  

We understand from our constituents that their situations are dire. During our recent distribution we heard stories of people struggling to find work, children dying, families going to bed hungry, and families struggling to eat one small meal a day.

Although families are desperate to provide for themselves, the economic situation makes finding sustainable work nearly impossible for many families. Additionally, many of our constituents are from women-lead households or are disabled or both. Not only are jobs hard to find, but they are nearly impossible for women to obtain since women are banned from working in most sectors. 

Two women, who were recent recipients of 100-kilos of staple food items, shared their stories with us. 

“Having lost my husband years ago, I have been raising my 2 sons alone. We don’t have a permanent house and are currently living in my son-in-law’s house. My 20-year-old son used to work daily to provide food and money, but jobs are scarce, and work is unreliable. We constantly rely on food aid like this to survive. If we receive it, we eat; otherwise, we go hungry. For us, the entire year is like fasting days of Ramadan.”

"Since my husband passed away, I was forced to ask my eldest son who is only 18 to work to earn money for food. I am unable to work myself due to health issues. He earns just 50 af (less than $1) a day working at a shop, but even that opportunity is not always available. My greatest wish for my children is to be able to study but our current circumstances make it seem impossible. That is why I need help from this organization so we can have food so my children can focus on their education.”

The food aid that AAFF provides is even more critical as international support shrinks. Recently, AAFF completed a food distribution that provide 120 families with a month worth of staple food items as well as a blanket. 

We hired women from women-lead households to make the blankets. The women were very grateful for the work and are asking us for more employment opportunities. 

Unfortunately, we do not have ongoing funds to start a women's livelihood project. However, we hope this will be possible in the future so we can empower women to support their families.