2nd Anniversary of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Tomorrow, Tuesday 15 August, is the second anniversary of when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan following the US and NATO’s withdrawal of military forces from the country.

Now two years following the takeover, more than 80% of the Afghan population now lives below the poverty line as the economy continues to contract, jobs vanish, and government services crumble.

Reflecting on the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, said: 

“For the past two years, the Afghan people have been living in a waking nightmare. Families have been plunged into poverty, malnutrition threatens over a million children as food insecurity engulfs the country, and the dreams of millions of women and girls have been shattered as they endure tight restrictions on their freedoms.

The UK and the international community must not abandon Afghanistan. Our support cannot end because troops left. We urge the UK government to stay engaged via civil groups on the ground and diplomatic pragmatism while maintaining its commitments to promised UK aid funding and refugee resettlement.”