Afghanistan Peace CampaignRodriques said that 7 out of 10 Afghans are unable to fulfill their basic needs for food, health care and employment.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that women and girls are bearing the brunt of the economic and humanitarian crises where female-headed households work more for the same household per capita income, consume a lower quantity of food, and women constantly lose their share of employment compared to men, while girls’ education attendance is at alarmingly low levels.
Speaking at a press event in Kabul, UNDP Resident Representative for Afghanistan, Stephen Rodriques, said that the economic loss caused by the restrictions on the female workforce was estimated to have reached US$ 1 billion at the end of 2022.
“This is largely due to a number of facts including restricted banking services. Suspension of official development weakened and isolated …economic institutions, and a lack of foreign direct investment,” he said.
Rodriques said that 7 out of 10 Afghans are unable to fulfill their basic needs for food, health care and employment.
“While the economy appears to be stabilizing, it is simply not growing fast enough to meet the needs of the 35 million in growing population,” he said.
The chargé d’affaires of the Japan embassy, Takuya Tanimoto, said Japan seeks to help the people of Afghanistan to become self-reliant, “to support Afghanistan’s people in maintaining and improving their lives and becoming self-reliant through their own efforts,” he said.
The UNDP released its report of 2 years in review “Changes in Afghan Economy, Households and Cross-Cutting Sectors (August 2021 to August 2023)” on Thursday.