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ISLAMABAD: Worsening hunger in Afghanistan is forcing families into desperate measures as unemployment, poverty and cuts to international aid deepen the country&rsquo;s humanitarian crisis, a BBC World report says. According to the report, hundreds of men, desperate for work and food, gather each morning in the dusty square of Chaghcharan, Ghor province&rsquo;s capital, hoping for a few hours&rsquo; casual labour to keep their families alive. Juma Khan, a local resident told BBC World that he has found only three days of work in the past six weeks, earning 150&ndash;200 afghani ($2.35&ndash;$3.13) . &ldquo;My children went to bed hungry three nights in a row.&rdquo; &ldquo;I live in fear that my children will die of hunger,&rdquo; he was quoted as saying. The United Nations says three in four Afghans cannot meet basic needs and about 4.7 million people are one step away from famine. Severe drought, collapsing livelihoods and steep cuts to international aid since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 have pushed provinces such as Ghor toward catastrophe. At the square, men scramble for stale loaves when a baker hands them out. Reporters witnessed only three hires during a two-hour period. &ldquo;I got a call saying my children hadn&#39;t eaten for two days,&rdquo; said Rabani. &ldquo;I felt like I should kill myself. But then I thought, how will that help my family?&rdquo; Families describe unbearable choices. Abdul Rashid Azimi, holding his seven-year-old twins, said he has considered selling them to feed the rest of his children. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m willing to sell my daughters,&rdquo; he said through tears. His wife, Kayhan, said the household survives on bread soaked in hot water; teenage sons polish shoes while another son collects rubbish for cooking fuel. In another case, a father said he transferred custody of his five-year-old daughter to a relative to pay for surgery for appendicitis and a liver cyst. The arrangement raised 200,000 afghani (about $3,200); the relative agreed custody for up to five years. &ldquo;If I had money, I would never have taken this decision,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But then I thought, what if she dies without the surgery?&rdquo; Chaghcharan&rsquo;s provincial hospital shows the human cost. The neonatal unit is overcrowded; most babies are underweight and many struggle to breathe. A pair of premature twins were placed on oxygen; one died a few hours later. Nurse Fatima Husseini said there are days when as many as three infants die. Doctors say essential medicines and equipment are often unavailable and families must buy drugs privately or take sick children home because they cannot afford care. The Taliban government blames the country&rsquo;s economic collapse on the previous era and foreign withdrawal and calls for depolitizised humanitarian aid. Donors, including the United States and the United Kingdom, say Taliban restrictions on women and girls and other policy concerns have influenced funding cuts. Humanitarian agencies warn that without urgent, scaled-up assistance, more families will be forced into desperate measures and more children will die. Aid groups are calling for predictable funding and unrestricted access to reach hard-hit provinces such as Ghor.

Food rations for vulnerable families in Afghanistan are to be cut by the World Food Programme.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s deepening hunger crisis, fueled by poverty, unemployment and aid cuts, force desperate families to sell their daughters to survive starvation.

Afghan fathers sell children to survive amid deepening crisis: Report

ISLAMABAD: A new report by Azim Premji University reveals a worsening employment crisis among India&rsquo;s youth, with unemployment rates approaching 40% among those aged 15-25 and around 20% for those aged 25-29, despite decades of rising educational enrollment. The State of Working India 2026 report highlights a growing disconnect between education and job creation in one of the world&rsquo;s youngest economies. &nbsp;India&rsquo;s youth population (15-29 years) stands at 367 million, roughly one-third of the working-age population.&nbsp; Of these, 263 million are currently out of education, representing a vast potential workforce. However, with the country&rsquo;s median age at 28, the report warns that India&rsquo;s demographic advantage could begin to fade after 2030 if job creation does not accelerate. The transition from education to employment remains particularly challenging. In 2023, 11 million out of 63 million graduates aged 20-29 were unemployed.&nbsp; While about half of young male graduates manage to find work within a year, only 7% secure stable, salaried positions. Notably, graduate unemployment has remained persistently high between 35% and 40% since 1983. This comes even as access to education has expanded significantly. Tertiary enrolment has reached 28%, comparable to countries with similar income levels.&nbsp; Female enrolment rose sharply from 38% in 1983 to 68% in 2023, while male enrolment increased from 49% to 73%. Gains were also recorded among historically disadvantaged communities, though their participation still lags behind the national average. However, the report flags a worrying reversal among young men, with enrolment dropping from 38% in 2017 to 34% in 2024. Financial pressures appear to be a major factor, with 72% of those leaving education citing the need to support household incomes. The rapid expansion of private institutions has driven much of the growth in education.&nbsp; The number of higher education institutions surged from 1,644 to over 69,000 since liberalization. Yet this expansion has raised concerns about quality, with significant teacher shortages reported far exceeding recommended student-teacher ratios. A similar trend is evident in vocational training. Industrial Training Institutes have nearly quadrupled since 2005, with private providers dominating the sector. However, many of these institutions struggle with quality issues and weak links to industry employment. Cost remains another major barrier. Professional degrees are increasingly out of reach for poorer households, with medical education costing nearly ₹97,400 annually and engineering degrees costing an average of ₹2.3 million. These expenses often exceed household incomes, reinforcing inequality in access to high-paying jobs. Despite these challenges, graduates continue to enjoy a wage advantage, earning roughly twice as much as non-graduates at the entry level. However, entry-level salaries for young male graduates have stagnated since 2011. Encouragingly, the gender pay gap among graduates has narrowed, with young women now earning on par with men. The report also notes shifts in employment patterns. Young workers are moving out of agriculture, though women&rsquo;s participation in the sector has risen since 2017. Meanwhile, young women are increasingly entering modern sectors such as IT, manufacturing, and business services. For young men, employment remains concentrated in trade, transport, and construction. Migration continues to play a critical role in balancing labour markets, with youth making up around 40% of informal migrant workers. States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are major sources of migrant labour, while Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab are key destinations. Commenting on the findings, university president Indu Prasad said that while more young Indians are educated and ambitious than ever before, the challenge now lies in ensuring meaningful employment opportunities. Lead author Rosa Abraham added that improving the transition from education to work will be crucial for India&rsquo;s economic future.

India

A report by Azim Premji University finds youth unemployment in India remains high despite rising education levels, highlighting a widening gap between schooling and job creation.

Nearly 40% of Indian graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: Pakistan registered 727,381 workers for overseas employment last year through the Bureau of Emigration &amp; Overseas Employment (BE&amp;OE) and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), according to the Economic Survey 2024-25. Such figures often fuel warnings of an accelerating &ldquo;brain drain.&rdquo; Analysts argue that talent is fleeing and the country is &ldquo;bleeding its brightest minds.&rdquo; Those concerns reflect real pressures at home: stubborn unemployment, particularly among educated youth, and what many describe as an entrenched culture of nepotism, corruption, and favoritism. For young Pakistanis, the gap between achievement and opportunity has widened. A 2023 Gallup Pakistan survey reported that 62% of young professionals would prefer to work abroad if given the chance. Yet migration is also one of the country&rsquo;s strongest economic pillars. Overseas Pakistanis sent home $38.5 billion in remittances last year, the single largest source of foreign exchange. These inflows support households, stabilize reserves, and sustain businesses. Economists say many expatriates now work as &ldquo;investors, founders, and connectors,&rdquo; linking Pakistan to global markets. Data also challenges the conventional narrative. Research by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) shows that more than 765,000 Pakistanis migrated in 2022-23, but only 2% were highly qualified, while the rest were skilled or semi-skilled. &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t brains fleeing,&rdquo; one researcher noted. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a workforce on the move.&rdquo; Global trends reinforce that view. India, which received $123 billion in remittances last year, frames migration as a strategic advantage. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has dismissed &ldquo;brain drain&rdquo; as &ldquo;a term from the last century.&rdquo; Academic studies echo this shift. A landmark review in science finds that high-skilled mobility often results in &ldquo;brain gain.&rdquo; University of Michigan economist Dean Yang said, &ldquo;Migration creates positive feedback loops; people study more when they see pathways abroad; remittances fund education; diaspora networks bring back technology and trade.&rdquo; International examples show similar effects. When 27,000 Filipino nurses moved to the United States, more than 80,000 new nurses were trained at home. India&rsquo;s surge in IT graduates followed easier tech visa policies abroad. Managed mobility, researchers argue, expands the talent pool rather than depletes it. With a diaspora of nine million, Pakistan stands at a similar turning point. Overseas Pakistanis send back billions, launch companies, and represent the country across boardrooms, universities, and political institutions worldwide. The challenge, experts say, is not to restrict mobility but to build conditions that encourage return. That requires predictable policy, fair taxation, and a governance climate where &ldquo;ideas, not influence, are currency.&rdquo; Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir summed up the shift, calling overseas Pakistanis an example of &ldquo;brain gain, not brain drain.&rdquo; Global success stories reinforce the point. India celebrated when Satya Nadella became Microsoft&rsquo;s CEO and Kamala Harris became US vice president. Pakistanis felt similar pride when Syeda Warsi entered the British cabinet or Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, became London&rsquo;s mayor. Analysts argue Pakistan must adopt the same mindset. Each dollar sent home, each business link forged abroad, and each professional succeeding globally, they say, &ldquo;is not a drain; it&rsquo;s a dividend.&rdquo;

Economy

Foreign Affairs

 Pakistan registered 727,381 workers for overseas employment last year through the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BE&OE) and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC)

Pakistan recasts migration as economic dividend, not brain drain

Gaitty Ara Anis

WASHINGTON: Nearly 950,000 workers have been laid off across the United States (US) this year, the highest total since the pandemic era, according to a recent report by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &amp; Christmas. The firm warned that the total is on track to reach one million job cuts before the end of 2025, intensifying uncertainty for new graduates, especially foreign students whose stay in the US depends on employment authorization. The steepest losses are in the technology sector. Major firms, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel, have collectively eliminated more than 170,000 jobs this year, the report said. &ldquo;The often-used term &lsquo;learn to code&rsquo; is a crueler reminder of a career choice than a phrase of encouragement,&rdquo; Syed Murtaza Hussain, a recent computer science graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, told Pakistan TV Digital. Hussain, who is originally from Lahore and holds an F-1 student visa, said the collapse in hiring has altered expectations dramatically. &ldquo;Everything has changed, especially how the foreign students envisioned their future,&rdquo; he said. His visa expires in three months. Despite offering some of the highest starting salaries in the US labor market, about $80,000 a year for new graduates, tech has become increasingly inaccessible to entry-level workers. Companies are relying more heavily on generative AI systems to perform work once assigned to junior programmers. &ldquo;I had to restructure my company,&rdquo; said Dale Steen, CEO of a tech firm based in the Bay Area. &ldquo;Why should I pay anyone for the services I am getting at a much cheaper rate?&rdquo; Steen said that sponsoring work visas for new graduates is &ldquo;almost out of the question.&rdquo; Recent labor data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that computer science graduates now face a 6.1% unemployment rate, more than double the rate for students who majored in philosophy. Enrollment, however, continues to surge. More than 680,000 students were enrolled in computer science programs across the US. last year, including approximately 278,000 international students. Pakistan sent nearly 11,000 students to US universities during the same period, and more than half pursued science and technology degrees, according to the US State Department. Hussain said he spent more than $130,000 completing his degree. &ldquo;I thought it was worth it, that I would earn it back in a year&rsquo;s time. But I have failed to land a decent entry-level job so far,&rdquo; he said. He now works at a fast-food restaurant while applying for positions and trying to expand his professional network. Industry hiring has also shifted. &ldquo;Fresh graduates lack the expertise that is now required by the industry,&rdquo; said Mansoor Qureshi, head of a staffing firm in Virginia. &ldquo;Companies are replacing basic roles with automated systems, and that gap is expanding.&rdquo; Steen said that while companies no longer need entry-level workers, they desperately need senior engineers and decision-makers. &ldquo;Who will replace them when the current professionals retire?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;We have cut off the ladder that leads to expertise.&rdquo; To address that gap, Qureshi has launched an internship and certification program backed by the state of Virginia, designed to help new graduates gain hands-on experience. But he acknowledged that foreign students may not have enough time under their visas to benefit. &ldquo;I find it disheartening, but I am still trying,&rdquo; Hussain said.

Business

Massive US tech layoffs exceeding 950,000 jobs have devastated opportunities for foreign graduates. Automation and visa hurdles worsen unemployment, leaving international computer science students struggling to find entry-level roles and secure their futures

Articles tagged with "unemployment"

Afghan fathers sell children to survive amid deepening crisis: Report

Nearly 40% of Indian graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed

Pakistan recasts migration as economic dividend, not brain drain

Tech layoffs worsen US job market for foreign students, jeopardize futures

Afghan fathers sell children to survive amid deepening crisis: Report