Afghanistan earthquake victims face struggles getting aid

By GLENN GAMBOA
AP Business Writer

Donations for Afghanistan earthquake victims will face far more hurdles than other disasters, due to sanctions against the country’s Taliban government and its troubled relationship with Western nations, experts say. International groups that maintained operations in the country following the collapse of its government last year have rushed to eastern Afghanistan to coordinate aid to the region. The country’s state-run news agency reported that Wednesday’s 6.1-magnitude quake killed at least 1,000 and injured at least 1,500 more. However, the humanitarian response – which normally surges in the first 72 hours following an earthquake – has been slower and smaller than usual, due to the lack of pre-positioned supplies in the country and pre-existing problems of hunger and poverty.