Drought in Afghanistan threatens three million people with hunger

An already unstable country now faces the possibility of running out of food within three months. Afghanistan is now experiencing drought conditions and OXFAM is calling on donors to help. Rainfall has been sparse during last fall and spring rainy seasons. Last winter also brought little of any snowfall to Northern Afghanistan.

From Reuters Alert Net, writer Maria Caspani relays the appeal from OXFAM.

“Governments need to wake up to the gravity of this crisis and ensure they are ready to respond before the situation gets worse,” Asuntha Charles, head of Oxfam in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Nearly three quarters of people living in the affected areas say they will run out of food in less than two months, Oxfam said.

“The drought has completely destroyed the wheat crop in some areas. People are reducing the amount of food they are eating and selling what little they have,” Charles said.