WFP raises alarm as 10 million Afghans face hunger due to aid cuts
The UN-affiliated agency's warning comes amid a sharp decline in international aid, leaving millions of Afghan families grappling with poverty, malnutrition, and economic instability. Experts believe the solution lies in improving international relations and effectively utilizing Afghanistan's natural and human resources.
"To curb poverty, we must consider two key strategies: first, maintaining constructive and effective international relations; and second, utilising both renewable and non-renewable natural and human resources efficiently. Therefore, with proper management, these resources must be used wisely and effectively," said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic affairs analyst.
Afghanistan continues to top the list of countries drawing global humanitarian concern following recent political changes. According to Tolo News, despite the increase in urgent needs, many Afghans remain without access to aid.
Mohammad Javid, a resident of Kabul, said: "If there were aid, we could manage. Even without work, we somehow got by. But when there is work, we don't need aid. There are plenty of street carts, and they distribute cards to people but we don't have any connections to get one."
The Ministry of Economy claims to have initiated programs aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment, which it says could alleviate some of the nation's pressing challenges.
"Simply distributing food aid cannot fully address the needs of our people. Instead, lifting economic sanctions and international support for programs that strengthen families, create jobs, and enhance purchasing power can lead to real economic improvement," said Abdul Rahman Habib, spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy.
According to Tolo News, the key drivers of poverty and hunger in Afghanistan include soaring unemployment, reduced foreign assistance, natural disasters, and lack of access to essential health and education services. These factors have led to widespread displacement and forced many children into labour.
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Times of Oman
15 hours ago
- Times of Oman
WFP raises alarm as 10 million Afghans face hunger due to aid cuts
Kabul: The World Food Programme (WFP) has once again raised alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, stating that ten million people are in urgent need of food assistance this summer, but only one million can be supported due to funding shortages, Tolo News reported. The UN-affiliated agency's warning comes amid a sharp decline in international aid, leaving millions of Afghan families grappling with poverty, malnutrition, and economic instability. Experts believe the solution lies in improving international relations and effectively utilizing Afghanistan's natural and human resources. "To curb poverty, we must consider two key strategies: first, maintaining constructive and effective international relations; and second, utilising both renewable and non-renewable natural and human resources efficiently. Therefore, with proper management, these resources must be used wisely and effectively," said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic affairs analyst. Afghanistan continues to top the list of countries drawing global humanitarian concern following recent political changes. According to Tolo News, despite the increase in urgent needs, many Afghans remain without access to aid. Mohammad Javid, a resident of Kabul, said: "If there were aid, we could manage. Even without work, we somehow got by. But when there is work, we don't need aid. There are plenty of street carts, and they distribute cards to people but we don't have any connections to get one." The Ministry of Economy claims to have initiated programs aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment, which it says could alleviate some of the nation's pressing challenges. "Simply distributing food aid cannot fully address the needs of our people. Instead, lifting economic sanctions and international support for programs that strengthen families, create jobs, and enhance purchasing power can lead to real economic improvement," said Abdul Rahman Habib, spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy. According to Tolo News, the key drivers of poverty and hunger in Afghanistan include soaring unemployment, reduced foreign assistance, natural disasters, and lack of access to essential health and education services. These factors have led to widespread displacement and forced many children into labour.
Times of Oman
21 hours ago
- Times of Oman
91% individual traders incurred losses in equity derivatives in 2024-25, SEBI study finds
Mumbai: Nearly 91 per cent of individual traders incurred net loss in Equity Derivatives Segment (EDS) at the aggregate level, in the recently concluded financial year 2024-25, a SEBI analysis of profit and loss of such traders suggests. A similar trend was observed in 2023-24 too. This SEBI analysis comes after certain media reports claimed that investor losses had started to reduce, after the markets regulator had on October 1, 2024, introduced some measures to strengthen the equity index derivatives framework. Markets regulator SEBI has analysed the trading activity of all investors and individual investors, for the period December 2024 to May 2025, to present the factual impact of measures to strengthen the equity index derivatives framework introduced in October 1, 2024. The SEBI said index options turnover, year on year, is down by 9 per cent (in premium terms) and 29 per cent (in notional terms). However, compared to the level two years ago, index options volume is up by 14 per cent (in premium terms) and 42 per cent (in notional terms). Turnover of individuals in premium terms in EDS is down by 11 per cent year on year and up by 36 per cent over the similar period two years ago. The number of unique individual investors trading in EDS is down by 20 per cent compared to the previous year and up by 24 per cent from two years ago. "India continues to see a relatively very high level of trading in EDS, compared to other markets, particularly in index options," SEBI said. The financial year-wise trend for a six-year period (2019-20 - 2024-25) along with analysis of profit and loss of individual traders in EDS is covered in the full study carried out by SEBI. Finding that a majority of individual traders are making losses in EDS, SEBI reassured, "Trends in turnover of index options will continue to be observed from the perspective of ensuring investor protection and market stability." In order to ensure that the rapid growth in the derivatives market matches with commensurate risk monitoring metrics, SEBI had on May 29, 2025, introduced certain measures with key objectives: better monitoring and disclosure of risks in derivatives; and reducing instances of spurious ban periods for derivatives on single stocks.
Times of Oman
21 hours ago
- Times of Oman
India abstains from UN resolution on Afghanistan, calls for efforts to end exploitation of Afghan soil for terrorism
New York: India abstained from voting on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday and noted that a "business as usual" approach without new and targeted initiatives is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for the Afghan people. The text titled "The situation in Afghanistan" was adopted by a vote of 116 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with 12 abstentions. While delivering the explanation of the vote on the UNGA resolution on the situation in Afghanistan, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said that India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan and called on the international community to direct its coordinated efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN no longer exploit Afghan soil for terrorist activities. He said, "India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan. The international community must direct its coordinated efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council - - the Al Qaeda and their affiliates, ISIL and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with their regional sponsors who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities." The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Afghanistan to uphold human rights, adhere to international law and take decisive action against terrorism amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, rising numbers of returnees and the enduring impact of decades of conflict. Recalling recent talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, Harish said, "On the political front, India's External Affairs Minister recently spoke with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan. We welcome the strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22, 2025, by the Afghan side. This conversation followed a meeting between India's Foreign Secretary and the Acting Foreign Minister, where both sides discussed various bilateral issues and regional developments." He stated that India's approach to Afghanistan has always been guided by "long-standing friendship and special friendship" with the Afghans. "India's approach to Afghanistan - as its contiguous neighbour with deep historical and cultural ties - has always been guided by our longstanding friendship and special relationship with the Afghan people. As a long-standing partner, India has direct stakes in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan," he stated. Harish said that India has been actively engaging with regional and international stakeholders to promote peace, stability and development in Afghanistan since the UNGA last considered the issue in 2022. He further said, "We believe that international and regional consensus and cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan are essential. Our participation in UN meetings in Doha and other regional forums reflects our ongoing efforts, including our recent participation in the meetings held in Doha last week." He also spoke about the humanitarian assistance provided by India to Afghanistan. "India's immediate priorities in Afghanistan include the provision of humanitarian assistance and the implementation of capacity-building initiatives for the Afghan people. We have been working closely with UN agencies to support the Afghan people in critical areas such as health, food security, education and sports. India's commitment to Afghanistan's reconstruction is demonstrated through more than 500 development partnership projects across all provinces." He stated that India, since August 2021, supplied around 50,000 metric tons of wheat, over 330 metric tons of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 litres of the pesticide Malathion, and 58.6 metric tons of other essential items, supporting millions of Afghans in dire need of humanitarian assistance. He also mentioned India's efforts to provide help to Afghanistan in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. "In partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), we have provided 84 MTs of assistance and medicines and 32 MTs of social support items for drug rehabilitation programmes in Afghanistan, particularly those focused on women. India also continues to offer scholarships and fellowships to Afghan students. Since 2023, we have provided scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate courses to 2,000 Afghan students, including nearly 600 girls and women," he said. He emphasised that any policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments - incentivising positive behaviour and disincentivising harmful actions and an approach focused on punitive measures is unlikely to succeed. He said, "Any coherent policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments - incentivizing positive behaviour and disincentivizing harmful actions. An approach focused only on punitive measures, in our view, is unlikely to succeed." "The United Nations and the broader international community have adopted more balanced and nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts. However, no new policy instruments have been introduced to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since August 2021. A 'business as usual' approach, without new and targeted initiatives, is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for the Afghan people," he added. He emphasised India's historic ties with the people of Afghanistan and expressed commitment to meeting their humanitarian and developmental needs. He said, "I would like to reiterate India's historic ties with the people of Afghanistan and our enduring commitment to meeting their humanitarian and developmental needs. While we remain committed to continued engagement with all relevant stakeholders and broadly support the international community's efforts towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan, India has decided to abstain on this resolution."
