OMM Redaksiyası
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Alexander De Croo has urged the international community not to turn its back on Afghanistan. He pointed to a sharp decline in opium production in the country and voiced serious concern over restrictions imposed on women and girls.
De Croo made the remarks in an interview with Foreign Policy editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal at the magazine’s Global Development Forum, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
He said UNDP had worked with Afghan farmers to develop alternative sources of income, connecting agricultural producers with food-processing facilities and export markets.
Afghanistan’s opium production nears historic low
Opium poppy cultivation was banned in Afghanistan in 2022. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium production fell by 95 percent in 2023.
UNODC estimates that poppy production remained at a historically low level in 2025, falling to 296 tonnes. Cultivated areas covered about 10,200 hectares, compared with 232,000 hectares before the 2022 ban.
UNODC says the decline in production has also affected livelihoods in rural areas, with farmers struggling to find crops that can provide incomes close to what they earned previously.
Ban on girls’ education criticized
Alongside discussing progress in curbing opium production, De Croo strongly criticized restrictions preventing girls from attending school after the age of 12, calling them “completely unacceptable.”
He said preventing half of Afghanistan’s population from using their talents was also poor development policy.
De Croo noted that Afghanistan faces economic hardship, climate change, natural disasters, tensions with neighboring countries and challenges related to millions of people returning from Iran and Pakistan.
Despite disagreements with Afghanistan’s authorities, De Croo stressed that the international community should not disengage from the country. “But we don’t think turning our back on Afghanistan today is a good idea,” he said.
He warned that leaving the country isolated now could have consequences for the international community in the years ahead.
