Afghanistan In Desperate Need of money selling organs and Children.
Highlights:-
- Why are Afghans selling organs and children?
- What has caused the crisis to worsen?
Jobless, debt-ridden, and struggling to feed children, Afghanistan is left with no other choice than to sacrifice its organs to save its family. The desperate need for money have forced several people to sell their kidneys as their last resort.
Why are Afghanis selling organs and children?
Now, the practice has become quite rampant. The most astonishing fact is that a city has even earned the name of ‘One Kidney Village.’
Half of the country’s 38 million population suffers from acute hunger after six months of the Taliban takeover. Now, Afghanistan is sinking deeper into a humanitarian crisis as well as in a deep financial crisis. Nearly 9 million Afghans are at risk of famine, as thousands are unemployed. In desperation, they are selling kidneys as a quick fix.
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Some Afghan families have been forced to sell their kidneys to buy food, while many others who have already sold their kidneys resort to selling their children to survive.
Empty stomachs and lack of opportunities to earn money have forced them to sell their children, mainly daughters to feed the rest of their family. Girls as young as 18-months-old are being married off for as little as USD 500. Many families are living under extreme poverty after American troops fled from Afghanistan, handing the fate of the nation to the Taliban.
Bloomberg Quicktake posted a video where many people are selling their daughters like other commodities.
“We did not have anything to eat at home, and I told my husband to bring some food before our children die of hunger. So, he kept on bringing in food, and when I asked the source of it, he told me that he had sold one of our daughters,” said Aziz Gul, an Afghani forced to sell her daughters.
The family who bought Aziz’s daughter is waiting until the 7-year girl gets older to settle for the total amount and take her. The need for family is fulfilled here. Therefore, by the time you read this article, Gul’s husband may have sold their other daughter.
What has caused the crisis to worsen?
The situation has worsened since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. Afghanistan’s economy is on the brink of collapse. With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, the international community froze Afghanistan’s assets abroad and suspended support. Nations have been hesitant to provide the Taliban government funding due to its reputation for brutality during its previous rule. This has led to over half a million people losing their jobs, as 75% of state spending depended on international aid.
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While it is illegal to sell or buy organs in most nations, the practice is unregulated in Afghanistan. Afghans are selling their kidneys for as little as $1500. Many are finding themselves in ill health after surgery. As most Afghanis are selling their organs, doctors have no money to buy the dressings to treat the infected wounds after the operation.
As an estimated 3.2 million children under five face malnutrition, more than half the population faces food shortages.
The UN chief has warned that Afghanistan faces a ‘make-or-break moment.’ He has appealed to countries to inject cash back into the Afghan economy, as the economic collapse could prove lethal for the country.
