A number of families in the western province of Herat are being forced to sell their kidneys amid dire poverty and starvation.
The families who live in the Injil district of Herat say that they have been forced to sell their kidneys on the black market for little money due to poverty and hardship in order to survive.
“We sell our kidneys if someone buys in order to bring something for our children to eat,” said a resi-dent of Herat.
Among those who have been selling their kidneys are children and women.
According to the law of the country, selling organs or parts are the body is not lawful, but these families say that they have no other options to survive.
“We are happy, the security situation is good, but prices are a bit high in the country,” said a resident of Herat.
Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Emirate say they are trying to find ways to improve the economy in the country.
The sale of kidneys due to poverty in some parts of Herat last year also made headlines.
But now as a catastrophic humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan, world leaders and officials are tak-ing the warning seriously.
The UK’s foreign secretary Liz Truss said: “We are working very hard first of all to bring people out of Afghanistan, and we are using various routes to do that, we are also putting in additional humanitarian aid into Afghanistan.” When asked, she said reports of selling kidneys “are very concerning.”
Economic analysts say the lifting of sanctions from the Islamic Emirate and the release of billions of frozen dollars of the country’s assets from world banks would be effective ways to improve the lives of the people of Afghanistan.
“The price of goods rose sharply and caused the most vulnerable sections of society to suffer more,” said Abdul Nasir Reshtial, economist.
Following the political change in the country, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US Federal Reserve cut off Afghanistan’s ac-cess to international funds.
Unemployment, poverty and hunger have reached alarming levels in Afghanistan.
