Kabul, Apr 18 (IANS): An estimated 15.8 million people in war-ravaged Afghanistan will experience crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity in 2024, said a United Nations (UN) report released on Thursday.

According to the 2023 UN Afghanistan Annual Results Report, the majority of Afghanistan's population is unable to procure basic needs such as healthcare, food, livelihood and housing, Xinhua news agency reported.

"As 2023 began, families across Afghanistan continued to struggle to feed their children. Nine out of 10 people were not consuming an adequate amount of food, the cost of which absorbed an overwhelming 89 per cent of household incomes," it said.

According to the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Afghanistan ranked 114th among 125 countries with sufficient data to calculate the index scores.

War-torn Afghanistan with a population of about 40 million has been facing poverty and economic hardships since the withdrawal of US-led forces in August 2021.