FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The process of providing cash assistance to needy families in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province began on Sunday and would be completed Monday, provincial head for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs Mawlawi Mohammad Akram Akbari said.
As per schedule, each family would receive 21,000 afghanis (238 U.S. dollars), the official said, adding the program would cover 850 families from across the province.
Earlier the state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs had distributed cash assistance to needy families in the western Ghor, Herat and eastern Logar provinces.
More than 22 million out of 35 million of Afghanistan's population are facing acute food shortages, and the war-torn country would face humanitarian catastrophe if not assisted, according to aid agencies reports. ■