Bitter Kabul winter leaves vulnerable Afghan families in crisis

Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall have pushed vulnerable Afghan families to breaking point, adding new pressure to a country already battered by poverty and food shortages.

Afghanistan is facing a deepening humanitarian emergency as severe winter weather settles across the country, intensifying an already fragile situation.

Heavy snow and freezing temperatures have caused widespread disruption, blocking roads in several provinces and turning daily survival into a struggle for millions.

Authorities say recent snow and rain have killed at least 61 people and left more than 110 suffering from weather-related health problems.

Among them is 25-year-old street food vendor Paiz, who earns about 200 Afghanis a day - roughly three U.S. dollars - and supports a family of nine.

He works daily from morning until night, despite what he describes as “ice underfoot and a biting chill in the air.”

“I have to work every single day,” he said. “If I take a day off, if I don’t work, there’s no food for my family of nine. No matter how cold it gets, I have to earn a meal for my family. There’s no one else at home who can bring in money.”

Inside their iron-sheet home, the cold is just as relentless. Firewood is costly, and the thin walls offer little protection. Paiz said his young daughter has fallen ill, but treatment remains beyond reach.

“The room is freezing cold. My daughter is sick, but I can’t afford to buy her medicine,” he said.

“It’s very difficult for me to decide whether I should use my 200 Afghanis daily income to pay the rent first, buy medicine for my child, or keep my family fed.”

He said many families around him are having to make similar impossible choices. As temperatures continue to fall, the elderly and children are suffering the most.

For households already stretched thin, the deepening cold has turned daily survival into a constant struggle.

Humanitarian agencies say such dilemmas are becoming more common as the winter deepens.

A report from the World Food Programme estimates that 17.4 million Afghans could face food insecurity by March, while 4.9 million women and children are at risk of malnutrition in the same period.

• UN warns of 'brutal winter' as more than 17 million Afghans face acute hunger

As temperatures continue to fall, aid groups warn that without urgent assistance many families will be unable to cope in the months ahead.

For people such as Paiz, the choices remain stark and unchanging, caught between warmth, medicine and food as Afghanistan’s harsh winter tightens its grip. 

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