UN: Millions of Afghans face starvation due to drought

Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-26 07:12:16|Editor: huaxia
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Afghan displaced children stand outside a mud house in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Rahmine)

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 13.5 million people in Afghanistan are severely food insecure, with 3.6 million of them facing emergency levels of hunger, just one step from, as the country grapples with the worst drought in a decade, said a UN spokesman on Monday.

Six million more people are affected compared to the drought in 2017, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, quoted UN humanitarian colleagues as saying.

UN agencies and humanitarian partners have reached 4.1 million of the most affected people with support. This is over 90 percent of the 4.5 million people targeted for assistance, Dujarric told a daily briefing.

Of those reached, 400,000 people are displaced while the rest are in drought-affected rural areas, he said.

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