Cold wave in Afghanistan: Afghanistan is fighting extreme cold

Afghanistan has been suffering from extreme cold for days: with temperatures sometimes below -30 degrees, almost 80 people have died so far. Added to this are poverty and hunger – and the difficult conditions for aid organizations.

She is standing with many other women in front of the building of the Red Crescent aid organization: Shila, mother of ten children. Usually groceries are the most important thing she needs. But now it’s firewood: “We can’t afford it, to buy firewood in winter to heat our house. We don’t even have heating in our house,” she tells the Afghan news channel Tolonews. His family, says Kabul native Ahmad, only has one blanket that everyone sleeps under.

Find warmth somewhere

These are temperatures that are unusual even for Afghanistan’s cold winters: in Kabul it can drop to -18 degrees at night, elsewhere in central and northern Afghanistan it’s well below minus 30 degrees. Everyone tries to find warmth somewhere – with campfires and stoves. Those who can afford it have a gas bottle and a small burner.

The cold snap has swept across the country and will last until next week, says a spokesman for the Afghan weather agency.

Almost 80 dead from the cold

In the past ten days, almost 80 people have died from the extreme cold, says Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry for Disaster Management. More than 75,000 livestock, goats, cows and lambs have died.

Fast help is now the priority, says Rahimi. “Our ministry, in collaboration with other government agencies, has provided food and cash to at least a million people.”

Many are already suffering

The cold spell hits Afghanistan at a time when many people are already in need. Millions of people are malnourished, many are starving. Significantly less international aid has come into the country since the Taliban took power.

Almost four weeks ago, the radical Islamists banned the employment of women in aid organizations. That made it much more difficult to help the population, says Rina Mattinson from the German World Hunger Aid. “The economic situation is difficult and I think someone said that in order to feed the poorest you have to steal from the poor. Because there is simply not enough aid.”

problems for aid organizations

Like many other NGOs in the country, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe temporarily suspended its activities after the Taliban were banned. Aid cannot be distributed fairly without women, that is clear – but it is an extremely difficult situation for the humanitarian workers.

“I’m very aware that it means kids aren’t getting anything to eat this week,” Mattinson said. “But the Taliban have put us in a position where we have to make a decision: do we not give aid to a limited number of people this month and face the consequences in the hope that things will change? Or do we just accept that what happens and half of the population, namely women, will be in this situation indefinitely?”

Cold wave continues

According to German diplomats, now in this cold spell it is time for the Taliban to finally reconsider their recent bans – so that the international aid organizations can once again help all Afghans in need.

In any case, the cold wave continues. Temperatures down to -35 degrees are again forecast for this weekend.