In Afghanistan, the desperation for survival has kicked in.
As a freezing winter captures the country that is experiencing a looming humanitarian crisis, people living under Taliban rule are trapped and starving.
Some parents face the decision to sell their own children in a bid to live another day.
The United Nations has warned without intervention, with 97 per cent of the population needing urgent humanitarian assistance by mid-2022.
But Australian aid organisation Mahboba's Promise general manager Nawid Cina says "statistics mean nothing" when he receives first-hand accounts of people dying every day.
"We have eyes on the ground. We are seeing people starve to death. We are seeing people do whatever they can do to survive," he told SBS News.
Children beg for alms from commuters on the street in Kabul, Afghanistan. Source: Getty Images/AFP
"There are terrible stories of people selling their children, people trying to sell body parts. It's complete chaos and desperation."
"Every day you're biting your breath."
He shared these accounts on behalf of Mahboba's Promise at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, where a dozen organisations called on the federal government to increase the humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.
Mahboba's Promise is trying to evacuate about 200 orphans, widows and staff who were deemed high-risk since before the Taliban takeover.
Now, because of their links to a well-known Australian not-for-profit organisation, their safety is compromised.
According to Mr Cina, only 17 of them have been able to safely arrive in Australia shortly after the Taliban resumed power in August 2021.
The rest, he said, haven't been out of their homes since the Taliban takeover - hiding indoors as they await their visa applications to be processed by the Australian government.
"They are orphans under the care of an Australian NGO, they are widows or women who are at risk ... their husbands may have been people who fought against the Taliban, fought with Australia or western forces," he said.
Mr Cina asserted it is the "responsibility" of Mahboba's Promise to ensure their "lives aren't in jeopardy".
"The only way out is for them to be granted Australian visas, and that's what [the Senate hearing] is all about," he said.
He said, of the 183 people Mahboba's Promise are planning to evacuate from Afghanistan, 67 are orphans.
All of them fulfil the criteria provided by the Department of Immigration to receive a humanitarian visa - but the yearly quota cap of 13,750 positions has slowed down the process for more Afghans to arrive in Australia.
"From a practical perspective, it can be a very slow and timely process and I know for a fact that our people can't afford that," Mr Cina said.
'Living hell'
Mat Tinkler, acting chief executive of Save The Children Australia, told the hearing there were more than 13 million children in need of help.
"It's hard to believe that a living hell could get worse, but it did," Mr Tinkler said.
"I think the world and Australia needs to ask itself, 'are we comfortable watching this tragedy unfold, are we comfortable watching a projected 1 million children die this year of malnutrition?'."
Save the Children Australia was one of many voices urging the government to increase the uptake of humanitarian visas for people in Afghanistan.
Almost all organisations at the hearing recommended Australia commit to an additional, one-off intake of 20,000 Afghan refugees.
Last month Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced the federal government will allocate into Australia over the next four years.
The announcement came shortly after the Senate released an .
Among the eight recommendations was for Australia to increase its intake of Afghan refugees, similar to the United States and Canada.
“This is a significant contribution to the international response to the ongoing humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and provides certainty on Australia’s ongoing commitment to resettling the most vulnerable Afghans," a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said.
Mr Hawke described the existing allocation cap as "a floor and not a ceiling" and said the government will continue to review the visa processing figures.
"The government will continue to monitor processing numbers and reserves the right to increase the program in future years,” he said.
With AAP.
