Amid rising poverty and severe unemployment across Afghanistan, a new form of charity has emerged through live streaming on the TikTok platform. Organizers host live sessions from local bakeries to receive virtual gifts from Afghans abroad, using the proceeds to distribute free bread to impoverished citizens.
Participants report that hundreds of men and women line up outside urban bakeries daily to receive food. One unemployed resident stated that finding any source of daily income has become impossible, forcing him to stand in bread lines funded by the diaspora.
Another woman in the queue noted that citizens do not desire handouts, but economic collapse and severe employment restrictions, particularly on women, leave them with no alternative to feed their households.
A baker involved in the initiative explained that between 1,000 and 2,000 loaves of bread are distributed daily depending on incoming virtual gifts. Donors outside the country send gifts equivalent to the cost of 10 to 500 loaves during the broadcasts.
Questions remain over transparency, as users estimate that TikTok retains approximately 60 percent of the value of virtual gifts before payout. This reliance on digital donations occurs as the UN Development Programme reported that around 74 percent of the Afghan population, or nearly 28 million people, struggled to meet basic survival needs in 2025.
Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that in 2026, only about 336 million dollars of the requested 1.71 billion dollars in humanitarian funding has been secured. Economists emphasize that sustainable relief requires lifting work bans on women and revitalizing the private sector.
Source: Media Report
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