Afghanistan

+++ Update: Following the protest against the ban on Afghan women working, we were able to gradually resume our humanitarian work in Afghanistan through intensive negotiations at the local level – and continued our work where it is also possible to reach Afghan women. +++ Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries. The economy is dependent in large part on international aid. Decades of civil war and terror have destroyed large amounts of infrastructure and have had a massive impact on the country's economy. In August 2021, the Taliban overthrew the government and regained power. The number of hungry people is expected to continue to rise as a result of the ongoing fighting. Already, the majority of the approximately 32 million inhabitants in Afghanistan live in poverty and do not have enough to eat. But other basic needs, such as medical care and education, are also not secure for the majority of the population. Rural areas in particular face great challenges to self-sustaining growth including a lack of infrastructure, an exclusively agricultural economy and a literacy rate of only 10%.