Afghanistan among the world’s largest displacement crises — UN News

Afghanistan faces one of the world’s biggest displacement crises amid poverty, drought and earthquakes, UN agencies warned on Monday. A fragile economy, four decades of war, 2.7 million returnees, worsening climate shocks and declining women’s participation are increasing pressure on livelihoods and services, according to the latest socioeconomic review by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) office in Afghanistan. “In Afghanistan, crises rarely happen one at a time,” said UNDP chief Alexander De Croo, who is currently on a joint visit with the High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih to meet returnee communities, partners and authorities across the country, reaffirming a shared commitment to resilience and solutions. In the last year alone, an earthquake destroyed many homes and livelihoods while poverty remains a crushing reality for most. At a time when 74 per cent of the population, or 29 million people, cannot meet basic needs, UNDP is currently supporting “displaced and host communities to rebuild together and move from return to real recovery”. The joint visit took the UN agency chiefs to see some of the ongoing efforts in Jalalabad, where they met with earthquake-affected communities. The pair also travelled into the Sutan Valley, an area that “tells a story of recovery”, Mr. De Croo said. Hard hit by an earthquake, Sutan is already seeing the results of recovery efforts. At…