More people have been displaced by drought in western Afghanistan than those uprooted by conflict, the United Nations has said.
A total of 275,000 people were displaced by drought this year, 52,000 more than the number who fled conflict, with more than two million threatened by the effects of water shortages.
Reports from the UN and aid charities described farmers lacking seeds to sow, following crop failures in some areas, and livestock dying from the lack of anything to eat. 99 per cent of people in Badghis thought their food situation was worse or a lot worse than a year ago. Most farmers lost last season’s harvest and nearly all of them lacked seeds for the new planting season, the UN study said, noting reports saying around 40 per cent of livestock have been lost in Badghis due to a lack of pasture and fodder.
Afghanistan, where nearly 20 million people rely on farming, has suffered a 45 per cent drop in agricultural output this year as drought hit the country, officials at the ministry of agriculture have said.
At least 120,000 people fleeing the drought arrived in the town of Qala-e-Naw, in Badghis province, in the week leading up to 9 September, the UN humanitarian office reported. In Qala-e-Naw, where there are an estimated 66,500 drought-displaced people, supplies and humanitarian aid are already insufficient to meet the needs of newly arrived families. A second UN report, which contained data covering August, said more than 100,000 people may have moved to Herat city for the same reason by the end of last month. The report estimated 2.2 million Afghans would be affected by the drought this year.
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