Taliban to distribute 66,000 tons of wheat in bid to tackle poverty
Kabul, Oct 24 (EFE).- The Taliban government said Sunday it will distribute 66,000 metric tons of wheat to help poor families in Afghanistan.
It comes as part of a program to tackle hunger and poverty in the crisis-stricken nation.
“Today we are inaugurating a program to prevent poverty, hunger and food crisis in the country,” Abdul Rahman Rasheed, the Taliban interim Agriculture and Livestock Minister, told a press conference in Kabul.
The program will first be rolled out in the capital Kabul before it is extended to Afghanistan’s 33 other provinces.
Rasheed said the project would provide temporary employment to 40,000 people in Kabul alone.
Some 11,600 tons of wheat will be distributed in the capital city, with the rest going to other regions of the nation.
Those selected for the program will work on development projects such as irrigation and the distribution of drinking water, and will be paid in wheat rather than cash, according to Mujibur Rahman Omar, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Water.
Afghanistan has been wracked by a profound economic and humanitarian crisis since the Taliban returned to power in August. Around half of the population, some 18 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.
The lengthy humanitarian crisis has been further aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, drought, the sudden withdrawal of United States-led international troops and the suspension of international funds following the August 15 Taliban takeover.
The UN Development Programme said in a report that 97% of Afghans are at risk of falling into poverty in 2022. EFE
