RASC News Agency: In its latest global report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has identified Afghanistan, alongside Bangladesh and Pakistan, as one of the countries most severely affected by acute food insecurity in 2024 and 2025. The designation reflects more than just a deteriorating food supply it underscores the devastating economic collapse Afghanistan has endured since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.cAccording to the FAO’s findings, approximately 295 million people across 53 countries are currently grappling with extreme levels of hunger an increase of 13 million compared to 2023. However, Afghanistan stands out not only for the scale of its crisis, but also for its acute vulnerability. With nearly 85% of its population reliant on humanitarian assistance for basic survival, the country has emerged as one of the most fragile points on the global hunger map.
Economic experts widely agree that the Taliban’s takeover triggered a cascade of systemic failures that unraveled what remained of the country’s post-war economy. The abrupt suspension of international aid, coupled with the freezing of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves, paralyzed thousands of small businesses, sent unemployment skyrocketing, and dismantled public services. Now in the fourth year of Taliban rule, Afghanistan’s development indicators have plummeted to their lowest levels in two decades, and the specter of hunger has become the defining feature of daily life. The FAO report further attributes the worsening crisis to a combination of intensifying armed conflict, economic shocks, and the consequences of climate change. Afghanistan, having suffered consecutive years of drought and a sharp decline in agricultural output, is increasingly dependent on food imports and emergency aid. Yet these lifelines are now threatened both by shrinking global humanitarian budgets and by the Taliban’s own draconian restrictions, which continue to hinder the transparent and effective distribution of assistance.
Afghanistan has consistently appeared on global hunger watchlists since 2016, but international observers warn that the country has now edged dangerously close to total livelihood collapse. The return of the Taliban has not only deepened institutional fragility but also exacerbated structural poverty, pushing millions closer to famine. Any further reduction in aid, they caution, could unleash a new wave of starvation, internal displacement, and cross-border migration fueling broader regional instability. As international attention wanes and donor fatigue sets in, Afghanistan’s descent into humanitarian catastrophe remains a stark indictment of the Taliban’s failure to govern responsibly. In the absence of inclusive political frameworks, economic reform, and a functioning civil service, no volume of external aid will be sufficient to reverse the downward spiral leaving an entire population to pay the price for the regime’s isolationist and authoritarian policies.
