Anand Gopal

KABUL, Sep 22 (IPS) - If 11-year old Zayainullah doesn’t bring home enough money today, he says he will get beaten. “We don’t have food and my aunt threatened me, saying I have to bring back enough money to buy bread,” he says.

Like every day, he is sitting curbside on a busy Kabul street, begging for spare change. Shirtless and one-armed, his distended belly signals that he suffers from severe malnutrition. “We have always had food difficulties but our problems are growing worse by the day,” he adds.

Like Zayainullah, millions across the country face acute food shortages, according to a series of recent reports. A devastating drought, an unusually harsh winter, high food prices and general war and insecurity are driving the food crisis and may spark a major humanitarian disaster, agencies say.
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