NEW YORK: Afghanistan is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported to the Security Council. Half of the Afghan populace requires humanitarian aid, struggling with hunger, displacement, and lack of access to basic necessities.
This was informed in a briefing to the Security Council by Joyce Msuya, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The situation is worsened by long-standing conflict, pervasive poverty, increasingly severe climate conditions, restrictions on women’s and girls” rights, and limited funding.
One in five Afghans faces hunger, and 3.5 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. The education of an estimated 3.7 million children has been interrupted, including 2.2 million girls over 11, barred from attending school due to restrictions enacted by the current administration. The maternal mortality percentage is more than double the world average. Over 600,000 Afghans have come back from Iran and Pakistan this year, straining already limited resources and services.
The nation is on the brink of another drought, the fourth in five years. Kabul faces a dire water shortage, with groundwater levels plummeting due to urbanization and climate shifts. Nearly half of the city”s boreholes have run dry. The UN and its associates are striving to mitigate the effects of these climate shocks, including a $16.6 million allocation in April from the Central Emergency Response Fund.
Funding shortfalls continue to hamper relief endeavors. 420 health facilities have been closed due to financial constraints, affecting over 3 million Afghans. Nearly 300 nutritional locations have also shut down, impacting 80,000 acutely malnourished children, expectant mothers, and new mothers.
Since the Taliban assumed control in August 2021, Afghan women and girls have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis. The UN and its partners continue to advocate for the active involvement of Afghan women in the humanitarian response, emphasizing the urgent need for them to work unimpeded. Despite the perilous circumstances, Afghan women aid workers continue their essential work, providing assistance to vulnerable communities.
The UN highlighted Security Council Resolution 2615’s “humanitarian exception” as crucial for life-saving efforts in Afghanistan. Since August 15, 2021, $7.8 billion in humanitarian funding has enabled support for the most vulnerable, saving lives, mitigating food insecurity, supplying vital health care, and assisting those affected by displacement and natural calamities. These funds cover essential operational expenses, such as rent, taxes, visas, import charges, utilities, and licenses.
Humanitarian organizations are taking measures to ensure aid reaches those in need and prevent misdirection. These include needs assessments, secure distribution processes, biometric verification, and post-distribution monitoring. The UN has also implemented a Risk Mitigation Matrix and a risk register, along with digitized payment processes and staff training on aid diversion risks.
Currently, the humanitarian response plan is underfunded by $1.9 billion. This has forced the prioritization of the most critical needs of 12.5 million individuals in the most severely affected regions, reducing the initial target of 16.8 million. The UN called for continued support for Resolution 2615, increased investment in long-term resilience programs, and urgent funding for humanitarian efforts.
