As the sun rises over Kabul’s parched mountains, a family’s daily struggle to find water – and to make it last – is about to begin.

It’s an emergency that “is not just a water issue,” warned Marianna Von Zahn, Mercy Corps’ Afghanistan director of programs.

The freeze in US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds is “one of the biggest impacts,” said Von Zahn from Mercy Corps.

It’s an emergency that “is not just a water issue,” warned Marianna Von Zahn, Mercy Corps’ Afghanistan director of programs.

The freeze in US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds is “one of the biggest impacts,” said Von Zahn from Mercy Corps.

The crisis is taking a toll on the children’s future, said Von Zahn from Mercy Corps. “The hours that children should be spending in school, they are now basically spending on fetching water ...

Population growth, the climate crisis and relentless over-extraction have depleted groundwater levels, experts say.