
Half Of Kabul's Wells Are Dry, City Could Run Out Of Water In 5 Years
The city now extracts 44 million cubic metres more groundwater each year than is naturally replenished. Nearly half of Kabul's boreholes have already dried up. Experts warn that if current trends continue, the city could exhaust its groundwater supply entirely by 2030.
Kabul, which had fewer than two million residents three decades ago, has seen its population swell since 2001. The demand for water has surged alongside, but groundwater, which the city relies on almost exclusively, is being extracted far faster than it can be naturally replenished.
The crisis is not only a matter of water scarcity but also one of public health, and humanitarian concern. Up to 80 per cent of Kabul's groundwater is contaminated, leading to residents getting sick.
"Diarrhea and vomiting are problems people experience all the time in the city," a 36-year-old government employee living in the Taimani district told CNN. He said his family often gets sick after drinking water from restaurants or brushing their teeth at home.
Many families are forced to sacrifice food and other necessities to buy water or dig expensive wells, the same water that often remains unsafe to drink.
Those unable to dig private wells rely on water tankers or travel long distances to collect water from mosques.
"We don't have access to (drinking) water at all," said a 42-year-old mother of four. "Water shortage is a huge problem affecting our daily life." Women in particular face increased hardship. Under Taliban restrictions, they must be accompanied by a male guardian to go outside.
Climate change is worsening the problem. Snowmelt from the Hindu Kush mountains, which used to recharge Kabul's aquifers, has significantly declined, replaced by unregulated flash floods from irregular rainfall.
The situation has been worsened by political instability and a sharp decline in foreign aid following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. A freeze on US assistance, including USAID funding, has stalled critical water and sanitation projects.
UNICEF earlier projected that Kabul could exhaust its groundwater supply by 2030 if current trends persist.

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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
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Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
US-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France, sources say
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The spokesperson said that a preliminary decision had been made to destroy certain products from terminated U.S. Agency for International Development contracts. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal," the spokesperson said via email, adding that no condoms or HIV medications would be destroyed. U.S. lawmakers have introduced two bills this month to prevent the destruction of the supplies following Trump's decision to shut down USAID, but aid groups say the bills are unlikely to be passed in time to stop the incineration. The Belgian foreign ministry said Brussels had held talks with U.S. authorities and "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation." "Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome," it said in a statement shared with Reuters on Tuesday. 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It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women." She added that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa had relied on USAID for access to contraception and that the aid cuts would lead to a rise in unsafe abortions. The United Nations' sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, also offered to buy the contraceptives outright, three sources told Reuters, without disclosing the financial terms of the proposal. 'DOZENS OF TRUCKLOADS' However, negotiations broke down, a source with knowledge of the talks said, in part due to a lack of response from the U.S. government. UNFPA declined to comment. One of the sources with knowledge of the issue said that the Trump administration was acting in accordance with the Mexico City policy, an anti-abortion pact in which Trump reinstated U.S. participation in January. 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India.com
3 days ago
- India.com
Why U.S. Funded Contraceptives Worth $10 Million Are Being Burned In France While Poor Nations Plead For Help
France Contraceptive Burning: In a warehouse in Belgium, crates of unused birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants – funded by American taxpayers and meant for women in the world's poorest countries – are being prepared for destruction. The supplies, worth nearly $10 million, are not expiring anytime soon. Some carry shelf lives until 2031. But they are still being burned, in France, at a cost of over $160,000. This wastage is the result of a deliberate choice by the U.S. government. After President Donald Trump ordered a shutdown of foreign assistance programmes of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in January, thousands of boxes of reproductive health supplies were stranded. Aid groups rushed in. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and reproductive health NGOs offered to take the contraceptives and send them where they were needed most – in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, where these supplies are often the only thing preventing unsafe abortions. But Washington said no. Over and over. Offers Turned Down, Rights Sidelined Sarah Shaw, who works with MSI Reproductive Choices, said her organisation was ready to repackage and ship the supplies at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. They were even willing to follow U.S. rules, but they were told something shocking: the supplies would only be sold at full market price. 'This is not about money It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights,' Shaw told Reuters. Aid groups warned of the human consequences of women denied access to basic contraceptive care, of lives destabilised by unwanted pregnancies and of a surge in dangerous abortion attempts. But the U.S. government refused to budge. The boxes remained untouched. And then came the decision: incinerate everything. Pressure, Politics and Fears of Abortion Links A source close to the talks said the Trump administration feared the supplies might end up with organisations linked to abortion services, something that could technically violate his funding rules. Stamped with the USAID logo, the packaging became another sticking point. The government simply did not want the risk, even if that risk was remote. In Brussels, Belgian officials tried to negotiate. They asked if the supplies could be redirected or handed off. 'Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints,' Belgium's foreign ministry said. But their plea fell on deaf ears. Too Little, Too Late Even in Washington, lawmakers tried to intervene albeit late. A few introduced legislation this month in a last-ditch effort to stop the destruction. But insiders admit it may already be too late. Reuters also obtained an internal USAID memo from April. It clearly recommended that the supplies be immediately handed over to another agency to avoid waste and added costs. That advice was ignored. So now, $10 million in birth control will go up in smoke. Not because it was faulty. Not because it was old. But because politics triumphed over people and ideology outweighed empathy.