Why Afghanistan men are selling their kidney to feed their families

There are dozens, if not hundreds of pictures circulating on the Internet showing men who have sold their kidneys in Afghanistan just to get enough money to feed their families. Some of these pictures are that of men, young men, fathers and older men who are showing their belly to show just how incredibly damaged the economy of Afghanistan has become.

According to sources, while older men are doing this to feed their family there are also younger men who do this to participate in the attempt to feed their sisters and their younger ones generally. Sources claim that this is because of the extreme hunger that has since tightened its grip on Afghanistan as more parents, including some few women, are sacrificing their bodies in order to feed their children. So what exactly is going on in Afghanistan and what can be said about the issue?

According to the New York Times, since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there has been several issues with their economy, which has since led to illegal organ trading, which existed way before Taliban took over, but has since exploded. The existing issues with the economy of Afghanistan has led the black market for organs to increase in its productivity drastically. According to the UN, this is because several people, perhaps reaching an estimate of millions of Afghanistan, has been plunged into extreme poverty without no source of income whatsoever that they now have to depend on selling parts of their bodies just to get enough cash to feed their families. Sources claim that the recent United Nations estimates, proves that 24 million people, which is 59% of the entire population of Afghanistan are in need of life saving humanitarian aid, which will cause their lives to be at least better than it was before. This is a testament to just how poverty has stricken the area. 

In an article published by the New York posts, one of those who donated his organs, or perhaps sold his organs just for cash, spoke to the News agency, speaking about the regrets of his actions. He claimed that some of the things he did just to feed his family are now things that he regrets, including selling his organs. After selling his organs, this particular person could not walk or do any extra activity as he was plunged into extreme pain. Obviously this would continue for several other men and their continuous plunging into poverty and extreme pains in their body would drive the entire country into economic desperation. Since the men are unable to work and the women are in desperate need to care for their family.

It has become such a popular practice in the western city of Afghanistan that it has gotten a very strange nickname. This western city is now known as the “One Kidney village,” because in that village men who live there are known to live with just one kidney because they have sold the other one. Sadly, the price for kidney often ranges between $3500 to $4000 but due to the obvious desperation of the people, it has then dropped to $1500 since the Taliban took over.

The problem in Afghanistan, especially with young men, became so terrible that some sources, including journalists from Western media who went on missions to these areas, have claimed that Thousands of children are now working in the street, begging for food and searching through dump sites for whatever they can lay their hands on. While children are searching for food in dump sites, men are selling their kidneys just to feed their families, and some women are pushing wheelbarrows just to see something significant that they can do to earn themselves little or close to nothing. It has indeed become very terrible and one can see that Afghanistan has truly fallen economically. There is little activity of trade going on in the area as people have close to no money to buy anything and those who have are too rich to even buy from the poor.

 So why is this happening and what can be said about the issue? How did this begin? According to sources, this all started after the Taliban took over Afghanistan and the United States of America pulled out from its borders. Immediately after this event, the international community froze Afghanistan’s assets abroad and halted all forms of Funding’s, leading the economy of the area to go completely drained. Earlier, Afghanistan somehow thrived on Western charity and fundings, all of which ended once the Taliban took over. Sadly, this economic sanctions that continue to come on Afghanistan, left, right and center from Western countries to African countries and even countries in Asia also play a very important part in what is now happening in the borders of Afghanistan. Asides from the economic sanctions and the fact that no foreign aids are now allowed into the country, especially due to the Taliban take over, there is also an issue of a terrible drought and COVID-19, which has devastated the country in a terrible way.

While selling of organs, sounds or seems very terrible and seems to be the tip of the iceberg, Some other societal issues or cultural issues seem to persist, like the fact that mothers are now offering their daughters into marriage or to childless couples for money because they can no longer afford to feed these children. Unfortunately, it would seem that international communities have made a very terrible error because while their initial aim by imposing sanctions on Afghanistan was to punish the Taliban, now it seems that they are punishing the citizens of Afghanistan more than they are actually punishing the Taliban.