# Famine in Afghanistan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famine-in-afghanistan/954080 "2021-11-10T00:37:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famine-in-afghanistan/954080/1 "2021-11-10T00:37:26Z")
I couldn’t bear to put this in MPSIMS but mods please move this if you must or if this thread becomes a bickering shit-show. Afghanistan is facing a horrific humanitarian situation and we are largely ignoring it. The head of the World Food Programme said the following today: “It is as bad as you possibly can imagine. In fact, we’re now looking at the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. Ninety-five percent of the people don’t have enough food, and now we’re looking at 23 million people marching towards starvation. The next six months are going to be catastrophic. It is going to be hell on Earth.” Today I heard a seasoned BBC reporter, John Simpson, who’s been reporting from war zones for decades break down on air for the first time (you can hear it at the bottom of the link). There are confirmed reports of families selling some of their children so the rest can eat for a week or so. This will be a deep deep stain on the US, the UK and their allies. > **[Afghans facing 'hell on earth' as winter looms](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-59202880)** > > The World Food Programme says 23 million people are "marching towards starvation" in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famine-in-afghanistan/954080/2 "2021-11-10T00:49:59Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > This will be a deep deep stain on the US, the UK and their allies. I was with you up to this point. Why are the United States, the United Kingdom, and our allies to blame for this famine? According to the BBC news report you cited, the primary cause for this famine is the weather. If a secondary cause is poor administration, the Taliban regime that’s running the country is responsible for that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famine-in-afghanistan/954080/3 "2021-11-10T01:59:15Z")
> **[U.S. Sanctions Squeeze Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan](https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-sanctions-squeeze-humanitarian-assistance-afghanistan)** > > As the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, the U.S. government should work with all stakeholders to establish a safe payment channel for humanitarian and organizations and financial institutions to move urgently needed funds into... Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famine-in-afghanistan/954080/4 "2021-11-10T10:10:08Z")
This winter could see something much worse than the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s and the reason there is no food getting into the country is political. The Taliban are obviously the chief architects of this mess but they are not the only actors in this story.