{"id":1916,"date":"2025-11-12T09:06:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2025-11-12T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:06:56","slug":"nine-in-10-afghan-families-skip-meals-take-on-debt-undp-migration-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=1916","title":{"rendered":"Nine in 10 Afghan families skip meals, take on debt: UNDP | Migration News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Hit hard by aid cuts and sanctions, Afghanistan is struggling to absorb 4.5 million returnees since 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 12 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">12 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Nine in 10 families in Afghanistan are going hungry or falling into debt as millions of new returnees stretch resources in poverty-stricken areas in the east and north, according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n<p>Taliban-controlled Afghanistan \u2013 battered by aid cuts, sanctions and repeated natural disasters, including a deadly quake in August \u2013 is struggling to absorb 4.5 million people who have returned since 2023. About 1.5 million were forced back this year from Pakistan and Iran, which have intensified efforts to expel Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>A UN Development Programme (UNDP) report released on Wednesday said returning Afghans are reeling from severe economic insecurity. More than half of returnee households are skipping medical care to afford food while more than 90 percent have taken on debt, the report said.<\/p>\n<p>Their debts range from $373 to $900 when the average monthly income is $100, according to the report, whose findings were based on a survey of more than 48,000 households.<\/p>\n<p>Returnees are also struggling to find decent housing as rent prices have tripled. More than half report lacking sufficient space or bedding while 18 percent report having been displaced for a second time in the past year. In western Afghanistan\u2019s Injil and Guzara districts, \u201cmost returnees live in tents or degraded structures,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n<p>The UNDP called for urgent support to strengthen Afghans\u2019 livelihoods and services in high-return areas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArea-based recovery works,\u201d said Stephen Rodriques, UNDP resident representative in Afghanistan. \u201cBy linking income opportunities, basic services, housing and social cohesion, it is possible to ease pressure on high-return districts and reduce the risk of secondary displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aid for Afghanistan, still reeling from the impact of decades of war before the United States\u2019s withdrawal in 2021, has plummeted, and donor countries have failed to meet the $3.1bn the UN sought for Afghanistan this year.<\/p>\n<p>The Taliban government appealed for international humanitarian assistance after this year\u2019s earthquake, and it has formally protested against Pakistan\u2019s mass expulsion of Afghan nationals, saying it is \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about their treatment.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"women-prevented-from-working\">\u2018Women prevented from working\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The UNDP also warned that limited economic opportunities for women in Afghanistan are exacerbating the plight of returnees, who more frequently rely on female breadwinners.<\/p>\n<p>Participation by women in Afghanistan\u2019s labour force has fallen to 6 percent, one of the lowest globally, and restrictions on their movement have made it nearly impossible for women who head households to access jobs, education or healthcare, the agency said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfghanistan\u2019s returnee and host communities are under immense strain,\u201d said Kanni Wignaraja, UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP regional director for Asia and the Pacific. \u201cIn some provinces, one in four households depend on women as the main breadwinner, so when women are prevented from working, families, communities, the country lose out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCutting women out of the front-line teams means cutting off vital services for those who need them most, including returnees and victims of natural disasters,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hit hard by aid cuts and sanctions, Afghanistan is struggling to absorb 4.5 million returnees since 2023. Published On 12 Nov 202512 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Nine in 10 families in Afghanistan are going hungry or falling into debt as millions of new returnees stretch resources in poverty-stricken [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}