Hit by massive floods and with no support from the Taliban, Afghans are left to survive on food scraps

As the flow of foreign aid dwindles dramatically, charity workers are struggling to help millions of poor Afghans whose lives have been made even more precarious by persistent floods and droughts. Arpan Rai reports

A kilo of potatoes in Kabul costs no more than five pence, but even that is unaffordable for many of the Afghans who are battling extreme poverty. Some parents are being forced to collect potato peel from neighbours to feed their children.

Adding to this brutal mix is the fact that humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged country is drying up – a cycle of droughts and flooding has also destroyed crops or rendered farming much more difficult.

Surviving on food scraps is still less desperate than having to marry off a daughter for money, something a number of families in northwestern Afghanistan have reportedly been compelled to do since the Taliban seized power.