Emergency livelihood support in Logar Province Situation in Afghanistan:
Healthy and varied food is a basic right of all people worldwide. Yet, this is not always self-evident even in the prosperous Netherlands. Before the war between Russia and Ukraine, a relatively small proportion of low-income Dutch people used the food bank. Due to the increased prices for living expenses, that number has more than tripled in a short time. And although these people will not be hungry every day and will not die directly from malnutrition, this situation does force us to face the facts: poverty means that people do not have sufficient access to healthy food. At the same time, we are once again experiencing a long dry and sunny summer in the Netherlands as a result of the change in the climate. The large rivers in our country are low, there is a spraying ban in some provinces and drinking water can no longer be supplied everywhere. This drought is also driving up food prices and leading to poverty and reduced food security for a significant number of families. 

If the consequences of these global developments in the Netherlands already have such an effect, you can see what they mean for a poor country. A country with major food shortages and few basic services. A country that has been suffering from conflict for decades. A country like Afghanistan. 

In Afghanistan, some 20 million Afghans do not have access to sufficient food. They suffer acute hunger and are malnourished. As a result of the collapsing economy, persistent drought and high food prices, the shortage of food in Afghanistan is a very current threat.  Many farmers are forced to resort to emergency solutions that often get them even further into trouble. For example, possessions are sold, meals are skipped and children are taken out of school and put to work to save costs. Also, a large number of families in search of work move to the urban areas. They often end up in slums where life is not much better. And their hunger remains.

Facts and figures Afghanistan
Population:					40 million
% employed in the agricultural sector:		60%		
Average annual income:			$1,500 to $2,200 Average life expectancy: 63 years
% in extreme poverty: 				47% (97% live close to the poverty line)

Humanitarian disaster:
Afghanistan has entered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Not only is there an acute food crisis, but there is an overall shortage of basic services. There is a lack of safe drinking water and sanitation, access to health care and education. The ban on girls' education causes significant economic damage and has dramatic consequences for girls' well-being and health. In addition, not all boys have access to education, due to lack of resources and the need for boys to work.  In addition, health care is on the verge of collapse. Lack of international funding means that staff are not paid and there is less and less medicine and energy available. There is also no access to psychosocial care for people. All this leads to even further negative coping mechanisms, and without direct help, people will die of starvation and will not be able to ensure that they can continue to make a living in the future. That's why it's important to focus primarily on emergency relief and make sure lives are saved.


Main causes:
We explain the main causes that led Afghanistan to this emergency situation below.


Economy in decline:
The Taliban's seizure of power has led to loss of access to offshore resources as the assets of Afghanistan's central bank in the United States have been frozen. This has seriously disrupted financial transactions, foreign investment, international subsidies and the banking system. The economic constraints imposed on the country and the unwillingness of the authorities and the international community to sit down together are driving millions of Afghans to despair. Moreover, the impact of the crisis in Ukraine has led to a huge contraction of the economy, increasing instability and growth in unemployment. Also, the prices for purchasing supplies for agriculture (such as fertilizers and improved seeds) have become much more expensive. The resulting high food prices and lower incomes have seriously negatively affected people's purchasing power.

Shortage of grain:
In addition, Afghanistan itself generally does not produce enough grain and is therefore dependent on imports to meet the demand for food. Partly due to an unprecedented drought in what should have been Afghanistan's wet season, the wheat harvest is expected to be 7 to 13% less than average. At the same time, the supply of wheat to Afghanistan is under great pressure due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Supply from Russia and Ukraine is uncertain, and due to the global shortage, other countries in the region that supply wheat to Afghanistan will also prioritize their domestic consumption this year.

Unprecedented heavy rainfall:
As a result of climate change, after a long period of extreme drought, heavy rains hit several parts of Afghanistan in July and August 2022, resulting in catastrophic flooding and landslides. The floods came on top of the aforementioned drought that had dried out the soil to such an extent that it could not absorb the water properly and the rain was extra devastating. 
Entire sections of roads and other critical infrastructure have been wiped out, including bridges, grain mills, hospitals, schools and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. People have died, been injured and others have lost all their livelihoods. The situation in rural Afghanistan was already critical before the floods. Due to the economic crisis following the takeover of the Taliban last year, many farmers have had to go into debt to pay for seeds and fertilizers. Now that their crops have also been wiped out and these communities have no means to restore their agricultural land in time and prepare for the next sowing season, an acute famine threatens. To improve food security and emergency livelihood conditions of affected small farmers and vulnerable women through community-based agriculture and access to food interventions The total number of beneficiaries for the project (all the packages) are now 6,315 households (44,205 unique beneficiaries) as below 

Solution 1: Feed 2,500 farming families (17,500 people) of affected farmers and vulnerable women engage in cash for work in the community.
Solution 2: Provide resources for agriculture to 3,000 farming families (21,000 people, including the same 17,500 people who receive assistance in the form of cash for work). 
Solution 3: Support and train 8,15 Women Headed Households and People with Special Needs and Disability (PSN&PWD) who will receive a poultry farming package.