Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis
This winter, it is projected that nearly half of the population of Afghanistan (23 million people) will face acute food insecurity, many of whom are already on the brink of starvation. According to the United Nations, if no bureaucratic action is taken, it is estimated that over 100,000 children die during the winter. While local and international humanitarian aid organizations remain in the country, they need resources and government action to enable them to do their work.
Today Vitalogy Foundation and Pearl Jam joined forces with a group of prominent US international humanitarian organizations, Alliance For Peacebuilding, CARE USA, Catholic Relief Services, International Rescue Committee, InterAction, Norwegian Refugee Council USA, Save The Children USA, War Child USA, and World Vision US to call for urgent government action to alleviate the hunger crisis.
In talking to Variety, Mike McCready shared “In seeing the situation in Afghanistan unfold over the last few months, we feel there is a moral urgency to do what we can. For us, it is really trying to bring more attention to what is happening and that there are actions governments can take to prevent millions from starving. Our country has played an outsized role in Afghanistan for decades and we can't look away now just because the military officially withdrew.”
Pearl Jam is joined in this campaign by artists including Tom Morello, Painted Shield, Grouplove, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Amanda Seyfried, Thomas Sadoski, and Josh Klinghoffer. The chorus of voices continues to grow urging the White House and other global leaders to act now on this humanitarian crisis before it is too late with support from Global Citizen and veterans’ organizations Operation Recovery and The Special Operations Association of America.
“We have all witnessed how difficult it has been to wind down US involvement in Afghanistan but we can't turn a blind eye now to the millions of families who are bearing the consequences. We have an obligation to support the Afghan people and to ensure our actions don’t make it even harder for them to access food and basic necessities.” - Stone Gossard
You can help spread the word of this impending crisis by sharing our message on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Visit InterAction to read more.