Food shortages have forced the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to cut vital aid to Afghanistan's four million people in March. This is noted in a statement posted on the website of the United Nations.

The WFP has called on the international community to allocate emergency funds to Afghanistan to fund humanitarian operations there. Otherwise, a catastrophic famine could spread widely throughout the country.

It was reported that due to insufficient funding, about four million Afghans will receive only half of the aid needed for their survival in March.

According to the representatives of the WFP, the food reserves in Afghanistan will run out before the next harvest in May.

Funding is being cut at a time when Afghans are also suffering from this year's long winter. Low temperatures, along with economic hardships, have driven millions of people to despair.

The WFP urgently needs $93 million to help 13 million people in April, and $800 million for the next six months.

Since August 2022, nine out of ten Afghan families cannot afford to buy enough food; this is the highest indicator in the world. Six million inhabitants of the country are one step away from hunger, the WFP warned. In 2023, a third of the population—more than 28 million people—will need humanitarian assistance, and this is almost three times higher than in 2021.

Thanks to the lavish funding in 2022, the WFP had considerably increased the amount of aid to Afghanistan. The agency has assisted 23 million people, distributing more than one million tons of food and $326 million in cash.