Afghanistan: Humanitarian Update, June 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

Critical funding gaps threaten humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan Pg. 01

Humanitarians welcome Mr. Daniel Endres the Humanitarian Coordinator (a.i) for Afghanistan Pg. 02

Women and children at the heart of Afghanistan’s protection crisis due to mounting restrictions Pg. 03

Improvised explosive devices remain a significant concern across Afghanistan Pg. 04

Partners step up response to Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak Pg. 04

CRITICAL FUNDING GAPS THREATEN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN AFGHANISTAN

Due to lack of funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) had to cut 8 million food-insecure Afghans from receiving assistance entirely.

Additionally, 1.4 million new and expecting mothers, toddlers and preschoolers are no longer receiving foods designed to prevent malnutrition.

From July onwards, only 5 million people will receive emergency food assistance when 15 million people in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 3 and 4 do not know where their next meal will come from. Ration sizes have been reduced and those families in IPC 4 areas now receive one-third less assistance than before. If no new funding is received, emergency food assistance by WFP will shrink to nothing by the end of October.

In addition, nutrition partners also reported that due to funding shortfalls, 25 mobile health and nutrition teams (MHNTs) in four provinces have been shut down. The affected provinces include Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar. The closure of these teams means that more than 100,000 people will not have access to basic health and nutrition care services across the Eastern region.

By June this year, only 9 per cent of the $4.6 billion required for Afghanistan's initial Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) had been received. In addition, 90 per cent of the expenditure in the first five months of the year, that is approximately $850 million, relied on carryover funds from 2022. In response to the changing operating environment and based on what had been delivered during the first five months of the year, humanitarians released a revised appeal that outlines $2.26 billion on unmet requirements between June and December this year. Even with a revised humanitarian appeal, the HRP remains currently only 14 per cent funded.

In the health sector, an estimated 7.6 million people will lack access to essential life-saving health assistance if funding levels, presently below a quarter of the requirements, remain the same. More than 31,500 households with severely malnourished children have already missed out on critical integrated cash packages for nutrition due to underfunding. The education sector faces potential discontinuation of approximately 2,800 community-based classes, impacting 83,000 children, 59 per cent of whom are girls, who have only gained access to education in the past year after the Taliban take over.

Insufficient funding in the WASH sector means that approximately 2.6 million people now lack access to safe drinking water,1.5 million are missing out on hygiene promotion, 1.6 million lack essential nonfood items, and 844,000 are exposed to poor sanitation.

At the start of June 2023, critical supplies for Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items, WASH and food such as pulses, wheat flour and vegetable oil are at risk of pipeline break due to funding gaps. Moreover, the end of the year brings another harsh winter, which many cannot survive without assistance including warm clothing and blankets, essential medical treatment and food aid. Timely funding is crucial to enable aid agencies to procure and deliver core supplies, address border delays and market disruptions, and pre-position relief items in highly affected areas. The Inter-Cluster Coordination Team is embarking on a critical funding gaps analysis which will be ready by the end of July.