The UN released a report on Tuesday (November 27th) in which the organization warns about the drought that plagues Afghanistan and pushes the poorest people to sell their daughters in marriage.

As Afghanistan goes through the worst drought in decades, with millions of Afghans at risk of famine, some "sell" their daughters to marriage to pay off debts or buy food, the UN warned Tuesday, November 27 .

At least 161 children, including six boys, were "sold" over a four-month period in the battered Afghan provinces of Herat and Badghis, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

These children are between one month and sixteen years old, said a UNICEF spokesperson, Alison Parker, during a press briefing in Geneva. Some are just babies but are already engaged, she said.

Very common child marriage

Speaking on the sidelines of an international conference on the Afghan government's reform efforts, which is being held until Wednesday at the UN's headquarters in Geneva, Ms. Parker said the children who had been interrogated between July and October had been "betrothed, married or ... sold because their parents were in debt" .

"Before the drought, more than 80 percent of households were already in debt," she said, adding that many people who had hoped to repay their debt after the harvest were unable to do so.

Ms. Parker explained that "child marriage is kind of a social norm rooted in Afghanistan" , with 35% of the population observing this practice across the country, and up to 80% in some places.

Present in Geneva for the Afghanistan Conference, members of Afghan civil society expressed dismay at the phenomenon of "sold" girls.

"It's very, very shocking," said Suraya Pakzad, who heads Voice of Women in Afghanistan.

"People are desperate for help. Especially food, " she added.

3 million Afghans in food emergency

According to the UN, at least three million Afghans are in an absolute food emergency and are at risk of famine as a result of drought due to lack of rain and snow last winter.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on Saturday that it had conducted its first "airlift" in western Afghanistan on Saturday to deliver thousands of tents for people displaced by the conflict. and drought.

UNHCR plans to carry out a total of 12 flights from Pakistan.

Drought and conflict have displaced more than a quarter of a million Afghans in the region since April, according to UNHCR.

Currently, some 220,000 families live in makeshift shelters in the provinces of Herat, Badghis and Ghor, and as winter approaches, UNHCR reports an increase in the number of children dying.