3 Million Afghans Face Hunger This Winter

"Time is running out to be able to provide communities with the help they most desperately need before a harsh winter makes many areas inaccessible. Snow is already falling and many mountainous areas are likely to be cut off within weeks."
Afghanistan's harsh winter which lasts from November to March often results in heavy snowfall of up to 13 feet deep, blocking remote mountain passes and leaving hundreds of thousands of villagers isolated for months.
As winter sets in, people are feeling the effects of the drought by cutting down on meals, moving across the border to Pakistan and Iran or taking loans to buy food, driving them into debt. Schools have closed as children are being put to work.
Despite 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces -- including Faryab and Badakhshan -- being hit by the drought, an October emergency appeal by the United Nations for $142 million has only so far only been 7 percent funded by international donors. Reuters Report here.