Aa Aa GENEVA (Reuters) – A total of 275,000 people have been displaced by drought in western Afghanistan – 52,000 more than the number uprooted by conflict this year – with over two million threatened by the effects of water shortages, the United Nations said.
Reports from the U.N. and aid charities described farmers lacking seeds to sow following crop failures in some areas and livestock dying for the want of anything to eat.
In a regular update, the U.N. humanitarian office reported that 120,000 people fleeing the drought arrived in Qala-e-Naw city in Badghis province in the week to Sept. 9.
It estimated 2.2 million Afghans would be affected by the drought this year.
The U.N. cited an assessment by aid charity World Vision International that 99 percent of people in Badghis said their food situation was worse or a lot worse than a year ago.
"The assessment also indicates that most farmers lost last season’s harvest and nearly all of them lack seeds for new planting season," the U.N. report said, noting reports that about 40 per cent of livestock has been lost in Badghis due to a lack of pasture and fodder.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a U.S. funded food security monitoring service, said in a report on Aug. 31 that the number of Afghans in a food "crisis" was atypically high.
In Badghis and Faryab provinces, emergency outcomes are expected to emerge in January, FEWS NET said.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by David Stamp) euronews provides breaking news articles from reuters as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes.
Articles appear on euronews.com for a limited time.