AFJR2022-2023 Humanitarian Assistance for Afghanistan (consolidated part excl. Cordaid implementation) Forty years of armed conflict, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have devastated the people of Afghanistan. The full impact of the recent take-over of power by the Taliban is not yet clear but the recent political developments have pushed Afghanistan into another humanitarian and economic crisis. 

The escalating conflict during the past months prior to the take-over, the many civilian casualties, and reported displacement until date have been considerably higher than previously. Humanitarian needs including food, WASH and Health needs already high prior to the take-over, have increased significantly. According to the HNO 2021, 18.4 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021. Needs are multi-sectoral and exacerbated by the escalating conflict, drought and Taliban take-over, driving up prices, devaluating the Afghan currency and increasing acute food insecurity to unprecedented levels whilst the health system collapsed due to development donors freezing their funding. The UN Flash appeal launched in September 2021 was requesting US$606 million to address the needs of 11 million people until the end of the year. Unfortunately, the appeal has only been funded by 48%, despite the pledging conference. 

The conflict has caused wide-scale loss of lives and livelihoods, damaged/ destroyed houses and infrastructure. Fields have been abandoned because the conflict intensified during the harvest months, and people have not been able to harvest. Furthermore, the harvest was already limited because of the drought. The take-over by the Taliban plummeted the country into a new disaster: Banks closed, many government employees lost their jobs, but also traders and small farmers as many people have been unable to sell their produce or export/ import and sell products. The economy is spiralling down, and prices of basic items have doubled or worse. Acute food insecurity and malnutrition is rapidly increasing and according to the Afghanistan Seasonal Food Assessment of September 2021, from November ’21 until March ’22 (SFSA), 22.8 M people (55% of the population and an increase of 3 M people since September ’21) is acute food insecure and classified in IPC3 or worse. An estimated 50% of children under 5 are malnourished (Unicef). Unable to provide for their families, people are resorting to the use of negative coping strategies by selling their belongings, livestock and even their children. If the situation remains the same, it has been predicted that 97% of the people will be food insecure and will require assistance during 2022 (SFSA Sept ‘21). Afghanistan was already a protection crisis before the Taliban took over, but protection risks have now further increased. Half the population is denied their basic human rights! The proportion of the Afghan population with access to safe drinking water remains one of the lowest in the world. It is estimated that 73% of the population live in rural areas, where access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services is lowest, and where open defecation is still common and hand washing with soap is not widely practiced. Some 8.8 million people will need water, sanitation and hygiene assistance (HNO’21). Sharp reductions in international aid caused by development donors freezing their funding are driving a collapse in basic health, education and other services. Prior to the Taliban take-over, already 7 million people lacked access to health care and 14.5 million people require health assistance (HNO’21). Health facilities are now closing, or running out of medicines and health and education staff are going unpaid for months. 40 years of war and recurrent natural disasters has also left many of the Afghans with mental health issues that go merely unaddressed. A survey exploring the gender-differentiated impact of COVID-19 found 78% of female respondents reported their mental/emotional health has been adversely affected since the outbreak, and female IDPs reported the highest rates of mounting stress and anxiety since the crisis (Unlocking the lockdown genderdifferentiated consequences of COVID-19 in Afghanistan, Rapid survey assessment April – August 2020. IRC, Roshan, UN Women, Women Count). 

Three severely affected provinces by the escalating conflict, displacement, Taliban take-over, economic decline and drought are Nangarhar, Kandahar and Herat. The three provinces are densely populated, and previously received many returnees. In addition to large numbers of IDPs due to the conflict, the provinces received a large number of displaced people from surrounding provinces as well, putting a strain on the already limited services available. According to the WASH cluster, 79% of the IDPs have no access to soap and 40% of displaced HH spend more time collecting water. WASH challenges for women and girls are multifaceted. They are exposed to protection threats while fetching water or using unsafe sanitation facilities lacking privacy. In the event the situation is getting worse and borders re-open, the three provinces will also experience an exodus of people leaving the country through the borders of Torkham (Nangarhar), Spin Boldak (Kandahar) and Islam Qala (Herat). 

Earlier joint needs assessments (conducted by ICCT, Feb/Mar 2021), informing the spring disaster contingency planning, and the September ’21 Flash Appeal, already confirmed the growing needs in the targeted provinces because of intensifying conflict and drought. A joint assessment – the Seasonal Food Security Assessment (SFSA), informing the new IPC analysis and this proposal as well, was conducted in September 2021 (conducted by the IPC working group, including AFJR partners Save The Children, World Vision and Cordaid). 

Nangarhar: The September SFSA and IPC analysis show that currently 45-50% of the people in Nangarhar are in IPC3+. During the upcoming lean period (Nov’21 – March ’22) a projected 60% will be in IPC3 or worse. People are acute food insecure and only 12% of the population in Nangahar have an acceptable FSC (5% of households are female headed, 10% of the heads of households is 65 years or older, and 26% of the households is headed by People With Disabilities). People are applying different coping strategies for their survival: almost 90% of the people indicated to apply medium to high coping strategies; 93.6% of households borrowed money in the last 3 months. The main reasons for borrowing money were to cover food expenses (92.3%) or pay for health care (85.4%). Nearly three-quarters of the population saw their income decreased significantly in the past 3 months and people experience different shocks including conflict, loss of livelihood and displacement. According to UNOCHA, 19,963 families (139,741 individuals) were recently displaced due to conflict. The province is hosting some 275,521 IDPs from neighbouring provinces. Although the conflict between the (previous) government and Taliban has reduced, IS continues to be another threat. Since the Taliban took over, explosions and killing of people occur weekly and this is likely to have a further negative impact on food commodities and prices, and may also trigger new internal displacement. Furthermore, the province is likely to temporarily host those who can afford to leave the country once the Torkham border with Pakistan will open. 

Kandahar: Currently 40% of the people in Kandahar are acute food insecure and in IPC3+. This percentage is projected to increase to nearly 50% in the upcoming lean season (SFSA Sept ’21). People are also livelihood insecure. Loss of employment and income are the most common shocks in Kandahar, mostly caused by the drought, and escalating conflict followed by the Taliban take-over and collapse of the economy. HHs are 100% headed by males, of which 1.5% is over 65 years old, and 33% of the households are headed by People With Disabilities. 18.2% and 50.4% of the HHs have mentioned a significant decrease in their income as their first and second shock respectively. Assessments show high levels of vulnerability and people with specific needs. Almost half of the HH have a PLW, and 17% have two or more PLW. Also, the average number of under 5 children in HHs of Rural Kandahar is 4.4. With limited WASH services available and lack of water because of the drought, water borne diseases have increased significantly, making PLW and CU5 more vulnerable (Unicef). Furthermore, IDPs, already lacking livelihood opportunities are dependent on tanked water supply, another burden on people’s limited budget. IDPs reportedly were reserving water, indicating poor hygiene practises and increasing public health risks making PLW, CU5 and elderly ill people very vulnerable. Health facilities, especially those in rural parts of the province are overcrowded and are running out of medicines. Staff have not been paid for 6 months and soon will be unable to afford to come to their job. COVID-19, polio and malnutrition are reportedly on the rise. In the Kandahar province, the estimated poverty rate is 74.6%. (SFSA Sept ’21) 

Herat: According to the latest SFSA assessments, 73% of Herat’s population experienced shocks during the last 6 months and 50% of Herat’s population is extremely poor with most being highly vulnerable (15% of households are female headed households, 6% are headed by people 65 years or above and 15% are households headed by People With Disabilities (PWD)). A staggering 60% of Herat’s people are acute food insecure and in IPC3+ and this percentage is projected to increase to 65% from October to March next year (SFSA Sept ’21). People also have resorted to negative coping strategies and more than 90% are applying medium to high coping strategies. People are also water insecure. Women are often responsible for fetching water, but they report that because of the long time it takes, they face issues including protection risks. The uptake of good hygiene practices is low, and people lack soap. People have drastically limited access to primary health care service due to the Taliban take-over, affecting women and children disproportionately. Herat province has been hosting large numbers of IDPs who have left their original homes in neighbouring provinces. Many of them are living in informal settlements lacking access to clean and sufficient water or health care services. Fierce fighting for months rapidly increased health needs including malnutrition but here too, many health facilities are closed and cannot provide health services to the population. Due to its proximity to Iran, it continues to host Returnees and Deportees. 

In summary the situation in Afghanistan in general, and in the targeted provinces specifically, is severe and is expected to exacerbate because of the upcoming harsh winter months and continued drought which is said to last for 2 years. With the collapse of the health system, high levels of inflation and steep price increases, lack of jobs and failing economy, people are in urgent need of food, an income, and access to health care and WASH services. On top of this, due to the limitations instigated by the new government, specific activities for women have reduced, increasing vulnerabilities of women and girls even more. Movements in the country are possible, the targeted areas are generally accessible, and overall security incidents have reduced. On local level, partners negotiate women participation and operating procedures with the new government. Humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan -  Food Security & Livelihoods, WASH, Health and MPC Vulnerable food insecure people in Kandahar, Nangarhar and Herat province of Afghanistan