About seven weeks have passed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. More people are now experiencing hunger and poverty. Some are out of work and/or not receiving the aid they did before the Taliban takeover.
During the occupation, the Afghan government was mainly supported by international aid. Now much of that has vanished. Roughly 2000 health care clinics in the country have closed, and nearly all of them were run by NGOs. The country is also in a severe drought, which has a big impact on food production. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is warning of a major humanitarian crisis.
“The popular term that everybody uses is ‘winter is coming’ from ‘Game of Thrones.’ And unfortunately, it’s terrifying, more terrifying than fiction,” says Dr. Meena Said from Santa Monica.