WASHINGTON (AFP) – Food security in Afghanistan has deteriorated sharply since the Taliban took power in August, while wages have fallen “dramatically” for more than two-thirds of workers, a World Bank survey said Tuesday.
The report found 70 percent of the households surveyed said they were unable to meet their basic needs for food and other essentials, twice as many as in a previous survey conducted in May 2021.
There also was a “significant” decrease in both the quality and quantity of food consumed.
“The results suggest that while the Afghan population is still able to find work and access some key public services, the situation is quite fragile,” according to the report, which was based on data gathered by telephone between October and December 2021 of nearly 5,000 Afghan households.
The World Bank warned “that an imminent and dramatic decline in welfare outcomes and access to services could occur unless salaries, at least for key services, can be restored and food security improved.”
Afghanistan has been gripped by an economic crisis since the Taliban takeover after countries cut off development programs and froze its foreign reserves, though some humanitarian aid flows have resumed.
Wages have declined markedly across industries and regions, and more Afghans are looking for work in both urban and rural areas than a year and a half ago, the survey said.
The quantity of available jobs has increased in the countryside, but has decreased in the cities and suburbs.
The share of public sector jobs shrank, and a larger proportion of households reported being self-employed, according to the data.
Following the Taliban takeover, the U.S. froze some nine billion dollars in Afghan central bank assets and major funding to the country was halted. The developments affected people across the country.