Winter temperatures in Afghanistan cause at least 78 deaths

• Over 77,000 animals have also perished due to freezing temperatures.
• Temperatures dropped as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit) last week.
• Millions of Afghans are in need of food and agricultural assistance.

According to a Taliban spokesperson on Thursday, at least 78 people have perished in frigid circumstances in Afghanistan in the previous nine days, worsening the humanitarian crisis that now affects millions of people who live under the extremist Islamist group’s rule.

According to Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokeswoman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, over 77,000 animals have also perished in recent days due to freezing temperatures.

At the conclusion of last week, temperatures dropped as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit), and it was anticipated that they might drop even lower. According to the report, the temperatures are far below average for this time of year, with the coldest circumstances occurring in the north.

With more than 21 million people in need of food and agricultural assistance, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan warned in a tweet on Wednesday that livestock losses constituted a new risk to families.

Afghanistan is currently experiencing a humanitarian and economic catastrophe due to the Taliban taking control in August 2021.

Humanitarian partners are giving people heaters, money for fuel, and warm clothing, but the UNOCHA in Afghanistan noted in a tweet that the Taliban’s prohibition on female aid workers has had a significant influence on how the help is distributed.

Since the Taliban ordered all national and international NGOs to stop sending their female staff to work or face having their NGO licenses revoked in December, at least a dozen significant foreign humanitarian organizations have temporarily halted their operations in Afghanistan.

After the UN was forced to halt several of its “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan due to a lack of female aid workers, some of the organization’s highest ranking female officials have been meeting Taliban leaders in Kabul to discuss the restriction on female aid workers.

Under the Taliban, who recently forbade females from obtaining education, women’s rights, freedoms, and access to education have all suffered significant erosion.

According to a UN assessment released in November, violence, terror, and deprivation still exist in Afghanistan, where 50% of the population is suffering from severe hunger. The combat has also lessened.

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