UNHCR, Afghanistan: UNHCR Operational update - April 2022, 8 June 2022
“UNHCR provided life-saving multi-sectoral assistance to more than 248,562 new IDPs and those affected by armed conflict by the end of April. In addition, cash for winterization was provided to 93,748 people to support their food security, nutrition, and other needs.”
UNOCHA, Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Martin Griffiths’ opening remarks at the High-level Pledging Event for Afghanistan, 31 March 2022
“Six out of 10 people in Afghanistan need humanitarian aid, among them almost 6 million people have been uprooted inside the country. They need food and healthcare but also livelihood support. The economy is too weak to sustain the lives of its people.”
Al Jazeera, Afghan women face hardship as Taliban struggles to revive economy, 12 January 2022
“For Zaigul, a 32-year-old housewife from Nangarhar province who lives at the Nasaji camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the capital, Kabul, life was already difficult before the Taliban seized power on August 15 last year. [...]
Zaigul, like millions of other Afghans, has no work as most economic activities have run aground following the collapse of the West-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani and the chaotic withdrawal of the US forces in August.
“The most pressing issue is the financial difficulties,” said Zaigul, as she sat on the floor of her one-room home, her children huddled around her.
“You can live without freedom, but you can’t live if you have nothing to eat,” she told Al Jazeera.
The United Nations on Tuesday said about 22 million people – more than half of Afghanistan’s population – face acute hunger. It sought nearly $5bn in aid for the country to avoid a humanitarian “catastrophe”. (...)
Like many families in Afghanistan, Zaigul and Nasir’s household income has been slashed over recent months. With most building projects coming to a halt after the Taliban takeover, and many families becoming unable to afford help at home, the couple has been unemployed.
“Neither of us can find work any more. We lack the most basic things – food, warm clothes and a heater to keep
the house warm,” said Zaigul, as she wrapped a thin black shawl around her shoulders.
Two of her teenage daughters were crouched next to her, while the youngest, a toddler named Sana, sat playing with old rags in the back. Despite the cold, her feet were bare, and her clothes sparsely covered her small limbs. Zaigul’s one-room home was empty except for a few worn-out mattresses that were splayed across a cold stone floor. In the daytime, the family used the mattresses to sit on, before converting them to beds for the night.(...) Zaigul recounted life before the takeover, saying that despite being poor, her family got by on a meagre income and donations from international NGOs that helped them through the winter season.
“But now, even that [the aid] has stopped,” she told Al Jazeera.
“My children go out to collect rubbish which we try to sell, or paper to burn to keep us warm. Sometimes, I think about going on to the street to beg,” she told Al Jazeera, as she dropped her head into her palms and tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
Western sanctions have dealt a heavy blow to the aid-dependent country, forcing international NGOs to stop
operations in the country.”
UN News, Avoid starvation: ‘Immediate priority’ for 3.5 million Afghans, 3 December 2021
“According to Mr. Baloch [UNHCR Spokesperson], nearly 23 million people, or 55 per cent of the population, are
facing extreme levels of hunger – nearly nine million of whom are at risk of famine.”
Humanitarian Response (Afghanistan) (UNOCHA), Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (15-21 November 2021), 26 November 2021
“North: 355,000 people receive food assistance [...]; East: 138,000 people receive humanitarian assistance”
IPC - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, Afghanistan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation September - October 2021 and Projection for November 2021 - March 2022, 25 October 2021
“Food security situation for displaced populations: Various assessments conducted on IDPs by Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) partners show worse food security scores on indicators than any other population category in Afghanistan. In 2021, REACH conducted an assessment with different vulnerable groups on the move that included new and prolonged IDPs, returnees and refugees; these people on the move are mostly concentrated in 11 urban areas (Nangarhar, Hirat, Kabul, Faryab, Takhar, Kunduz, Kandahar, Hilmand, Balkh, Baghlan and Jawzjan) on which the urban IPC analysis focused. According to the findings of this assessment, 42% of the IDPs have a poor and 36% have a borderline food consumption score; they have a very low level of income, far below the cost of a basic food basket, and 75% of the IDP’s reported a high level of debt. With the recent severe economic crisis, the FSAC of Afghanistan aims to target 90% of the newly displaced IDPs with a multisector response, aligning the response with these numbers.”
ACAPS, Afghanistan - Conflict-Driven Displacement, 3 September 2021
“Food
IDPs need food aid (OCHA 27/08/2020). People in Kunduz province face Stressed (IPC-2) food security conditions as of August-September, and 14.2% of children under five face some form of malnutrition in the province (Nutrition Cluster 2019). People are projected to face these levels into next year, which will likely make recovery difficult (FEWS Net 08/2020).”