nlp-thedeep/humsetbias huggingface dataset:
Physically disabled, pregnancy and elderly supporting the household are other commonly reported vulnerabilities.
Data suggests that lactating women, elderly and female headed household have continued to be the top three vulnerable groups among the IDPs, More than half of the FGD participants reported having at least one person with specific needs in their household.
80 percent of ever married women and 72 percent of ever married men believed that a husband is justified in beating his wife under certain circumstances.
Current Ministry of Public Health  ( MoPH )  targets are to treat 600,000 wasted children; an estimated 30,000 cases are currently reached.
Other locations Initial reports also suggest a small number of households have been impacted by flooding in Panjsher  ( 28 households ) , Khost  ( 17 households ) , Paktya  ( 8 households ) , Paktika  ( 11 households ) , Ghazni  ( only agricultural land ) .
So far, 15 families have been recommended for immediate humanitarian assistance in Mehtarlam and Dawlatshah districts.
In Dawlatshah District, damage included 5kms of road; 12 water irrigation intakes; and 30 micro hydro power units.
According to initial reports, floods affected 300 households, injured 2 people and destroyed agricultural land/crops in Pul Alam, Khoshi, Padkhab Shana,Mohamad Agha and Baraki Barak districts on 26 August.
According to initial reports, 50 families were affected by flooding in PD8 and Surubi district on 26 August.
Assessments were completed in Syed Abad on 28 August and identified 394 household in humanitarian need.
More than 145 people were killed and another 167 sustained injuries across 11 provinces.
Communication should include risk mitigation measures for accessing public spaces including WASH facilities  ( communities might fear to access water points with the risk of virus transmission therefore needs to mitigate fears by explaining what is being implemented ) .
For many Afghans the biggest impact of the pandemic will not be the virus itself, but the hunger caused by lockdown measures and a breakdown in supply lines.
At a time when Afghan children need adequate daily nutrition to help strengthen their immune systems, the price of basic foods is rising under the lockdown, making it harder for families to feed themselves.
Returnees are being forced to search for new jobs or sources of income to make ends meet  ( 87% in June, though Balkh and Ghor reported 100% every month for this indicator )  whilst options like moving in with relatives receded over the period  ( 8 5% ) .
Returnees in Sar i Pul and Kabul demonstrated the most critical vulnerability during the period with 93% and 81% of populations respectively not able to meet basic needs at all without work, indicating their reliance on daily wages.
Lockdown measures have compounded existing fragile livelihoods to the extent that by July, 84% of respondents said that without access to work outside the home  ( in event of quarantine ) , they could not meet their basic household needs beyond two weeks; that number increases to 98% for four weeks.
The Afghan government has warned unemployment in Afghanistan will increase by 40%, with poverty rates  ( = less than 2 USD per day )  projected to hit 72%  ( up from 55% prior to the crisis ) .
COVID 19 has had a significant impact on humanitarian operations, with many organisations having to temporarily suspend or delay program activities due to an increasingly restricted humanitarian space.
Despite the initial imposition of a range of lockdown measures in March and a formal three month Government lockdown coming into force on 6 June, respondents did not report awareness of COVID 19 related restrictions with any consistency in this period.
The gender gap in education grows even larger at secondary and tertiary level, with only 4.9 per cent of women accessing tertiary education, compared to 14.2 per cent of men
In Afghanistan, health partners that provide specific GBV services, reported an increase of request support for treatment of injuries as well as psychosocial support as result of domestic violence.
Social isolation measures, economic stressors, fear of disease infection, and disruption of existing health and social welfare services have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality related to the health consequences of GBV.
We cannot forget the children of Afghanistan because a Coronavirus epidemic in the country could pale in comparison to decades of war.'
Despite significant progress, monitoring indicates that recruitment of children into Afghan national security forces is still taking place.
The Taliban were responsible for 208 civilian casualties in April, an increase of 25 per cent in comparison to April 2019 and at similar levels as March 2020.
Rising numbers of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, with a disregard for international law aimed at protecting civilians from harm, underscore the urgent need for parties to halt the fighting and to re focus on starting intra Afghan peace negotiations.
Border closures have also meant a drastic reduction in exports and a sharp decline in remittances.
COVID 19 in Afghanistan is having a catastrophic impact on millions of vulnerable families. Preliminary World Bank estimates show that the pandemic and related containment measures are leading to massive disruptions to imports including vital household items, which in turn is leading to rapid inflation.
In response, humanitarian agencies should support IDPs to acquire documents to enable their allocation of land through the decree.
To date, protracted IDPs face the greatest challenges registering for land through PD 305: under two per cent of the beneficiaries registered under PD 305 in the Kabul and Herat pilot projects identify as an IDP.
The SHURA project, implemented by Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan  ( GoIRA )  with technical support from UN Habitat, is operationalizing the PD 305 in two pilot sites in Kabul and Herat, with a view to up scaling nationally in the medium term.
According to theWorld BankAfghanistan only has 0.3 doctors for every 1,000 people in the country, compared to 4 doctors per 1,000 people in Italy, which is struggling to contain and treat the virus. Should families fall sick with COVID 19 Afghanistan's health system won't be able to cope while aid agencies will struggle to respond to the tidal wave of sick people we are seeing in other parts of the world.
Save the Children is deeply concerned for millions of children and their families who are already in a precarious situation and urgently calls for the government to step up prevention and containment measures.
On August 29th 2018, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan  ( GoIRA )  promulgated Presidential Decree 305  ( PD 305 ) . The PD 305 provides eligible IDPs and returnees the legal right to apply for land allocations and housing support from the state. Land allocations are made in new settlements  ( or ‘townships' ) , located on vacant land in peripheral urban areas. Beneficiaries, receive land titles and support to construct durable housing to foment socioeconomic development.
Despite a city wide lockdown in Kabul, the threat of a COVID 19 outbreak combined with Afghanistan's weak health system, widespread corruption, decades old conflict and ongoing political crisis, is turning the situation in the country into a perfect storm for children, Save the Children said today.
Due to limited public health resources and testing capacity, lack of people coming forward for testing, as well as the absence of a national death register, confirmed cases of and deaths from COVID 19 are likely to be under reported overall in Afghanistan.
In the longer term, women and girls may be disproportionately affected by COVID 19 and forced to adopt negative coping mechanisms as they lose livelihood opportunities.
Lockdown, deemed necessary to prevent the spread of COVID 19 and protect the population, has disrupted children's access to education, healthcare, livelihoods and social services, while placing new stressors on parents, guardians and caregivers.
The first case of COVID 19 in Afghanistan was reported in Herat province on 24 February 2020. A very small number of positive cases were registered throughout March.
Drivers of violence include the complicated history and politics and unresolved struggles for power, different interpretation of the application of Islamic laws, geopolitics and contested regional politics that make Afghanistan conflict prone and at risk of external interventions which exacerbate instability.
Since February 2020, COVID 19 has added to the uncertainty and increased vulnerability and extreme distress of children and their families including returnee and deportee children who face discrimination and lockdown in Afghanistan after returning from abroad.
60% of respondents expect a high impact from COVID 19 on the household's economic situation, and another 25% expect a little or some impact.
Civilian casualties have recently declined, partly reflecting the Taliban's efforts to comply with terms of its agreement with the United States. Civilian causalities over the first quarter of 2020 reached 1,293  ( 533 deaths and 760 injured ) , among the lowest levels observed since 2013 and a decline of 29 from the same period in 2019.
The revised 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan requests $1.1 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 11.1 million Afghans. As at 4 August, the plan is just 25 per cent funded, leaving a funding gap of $852 million.
The delays in the formation of the Government have stymied much needed progress on priority issues, especially the peace process and governance reforms, as well as the response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
On 7 July, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees convened an online high level meeting and called for international support to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan for the inclusion of Afghan refugees in national education and health services and the voluntary return and reintegration of those who wished to return home.
Some 12.4 million people are in “crisis' and “emergency' levels of food insecurity, including almost 4 million people at the emergency level – one of the highest figures in the world.
As at 4 August, some 36,747 people across Afghanistan were confirmed to have COVID 19. More than 9 per cent of them were health care workers. A total of 25,669 persons have recovered, and 1,288 have died.
A power sharing agreement between the two major factions contesting the outcomes of the September 2019 presidential elections was finally reached in May. Implementation of this agreement is currently underway, including through the allocation of leadership roles for key ministries. Risks of further political instability and administrative disruption remain, constraining confidence and investment.
The direct impact of COVID 19 in Khost and Paktika has been limited to date, with relatively few confirmed cases in the two provinces. This could change as community level transmission continues, and as the population struggles to observe physical distancing and limit movements in a context where many families rely on daily wage labor to meet their basic needs.
On behalf of this group and the refugee population in Khost and Paktika, advocacy will continue in favour of the passage of a national asylum law in line with Afghanistan's obligations as a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
In addition, 400 refugees and asylum seekers from various countries of origin live in Kabul and other urban settings in Afghanistan.
Conversations with protection actors in Afghanistan identified gaps in information around knowledge of, attitudes towards and impacts of COVID 19.
As of late June 2020, Afghanistan counts 29,640 confirmed cases of COVID 19.
With a healthcare system already stretched to the limits, ongoing conflict and natural disasters, widespread food insecurity and reductions in foreign aid, stakeholders in Afghanistan were already facing a complex and worsening situation.
While return numbers are well below the 2018 peak for Iran, those returning are often suffering from health conditions and are more vulnerable with increasing needs, particularly for health and protection assistance. Of particular concern is the higher prevalence of especially vulnerable individuals among the returnees, including unaccompanied minors and single women, as well as hundreds of critical trauma cases.
Benefit from the existing Philanthropists that are also pitching in the fight against COVID 19. The foundation, created by Jack Ma, a United Nations advocate for sustainable development goals and the co founder of Alibaba Group Holding, is donating protective masks and test kits around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard partnership will contribute up to $125 million in seed funding to speed up the response to the COVID 19 pandemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling up treatments.
As of April 30, 2,171 people across the country have tested positive for COVID 19 according to Ministry of Public Health  ( MOPH )  reports. Worst affected parts of the country include Herat and Kabul. Herat shares a border with Iran, and most returning Afghan refugees initially cross through this province. Kabul is the capital of the country and serves as a transit route connecting all provinces.
According to the findings of the assessment on the newly displaced in 2019, 76% of the IDPs have an either poor or borderline food consumption score, whereas surprisingly, in prolonged IDPs, this is even higher, with 79% IDPs having a poor or borderline food consumption score.
While the numbers of displaced people in the west of the country have dramatically decreased since the height of the drought, at least 84,000 people remain in displacement sites and an unknown number have been absorbed into the general urban population, mostly unwilling or unable to return to their place of origin due to conflict.
In 2019, 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 )  where urban analysis is conducted.
Various assessments conducted on IDPs by IPC partners show worse food security scores on indicators compared to any other population's category in Afghanistan. According to these assessments, more than 90% of the IDPs have an either poor or borderline food consumption score; none to one week food stock maximum; very low level of income, far below the cost of a basic food basket; and a high level of debts.
Communities who are hosting IDPs are also being placed under increased stress with overcrowded housing. Limited water resources are being stretched in many locations due to the arrival of displaced relatives or neighbours.
Most of the IDPs bring agriculture based livelihoods skills to these urban areas where there is no market for their skills. Their arrival increases the pressure on the local job market, reducing wages and adding strain on infrastructure, ultimately fuelling tensions and conflict with the local population.
They also pay very high prices for transportation to move their families to a safer location. Therefore, in the absence of agriculture and livestock based livelihoods, and with no urban labour skills, they are left with almost zero livelihoods options.
These settlements may provide safe living from conflict with non state actors, however, internal communal conflict on the use of land, lack of basic services including electricity, water, access to latrines and education, and poor shelter conditions are major issues.
Rural communities mainly migrate to nearby urban or semi urban settlements, where security is relatively better, and land is still affordable or available free of rental cost for temporary settlement.
Displacement has become a familiar survival strategy for many Afghans. Millions of individuals, families and communities migrate within and outside the country.
Government safety nets or livelihoods programmes must be introduced to support IDPs staying over longer periods of time so they can sustain at least basic standards of living.
Prolonged IDPs became more vulnerable because of the COVID 19 pandemic, as they were mostly relying on unsustainable sources of income.
High price and low quality of fertilizers and chemicals are among the problems reported in many assessments.
Conflict, natural disaster linked to drought/dry spell and floods/heavy rains, crop pests and livestock disease outbreaks, as well as low household resilience, have contributed to an overall deterioration of the food security situation.
An estimated 80 per cent of girls with disabilities are out of school.
High profile attacks by anti government elements continued, with 7 suicide attacks recorded during the reporting period, compared with 11 in the previous period.
Additionally, if movement restrictions are not lifted and livelihoods are not back to normal by June 2020, there would be large food consumption gaps and adoption of significant Emergency coping strategies. For this reason, an update to this IPC acute food insecurity analysis is strongly recommended by the first week of June 2020, in case the COVID 19 pandemic is not under control by then, and in case movement restrictions are not lifted.
During the reporting period, there were 2,153 incidents of armed clashes reported, representing a slight decrease compared with the same period in 2019. Anti government elements were responsible for 95 per cent of all security related incidents and 92 per cent of armed clashes. The use of improvised explosive devices and asymmetric attacks contributed to the overall high incident levels during the reporting period. There were 13 international military air strikes during the reporting period, compared with 299 in the same period in 2019. The number of air strikes by the Afghan Air Force increased by 65 per cent compared with the same period in 2019.
Kabul city and Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province are also extremely vulnerable, not only the movement restriction but also the large influx of displaced populations that have moved to these areas to escape conflict and in search of better economic prospects.
Hirat, in particular, is at the centre of the crisis, with an escalating flux of returnees from Iran fleeing the outbreak in the country.
The most vulnerable urban centres in the current period are in Hirat and Kandahar, which are the hardest hit by the impacts of COVID 19.
Skilled and unskilled wage labour, small businesses and remittances are among the main income sources for household, both in urban and rural areas, which are highly affected by the impacts of COVID 19 and will continue to be affected in the projection period.
Urban hubs such as Kabul, Hirat, Mazar, Nangarhar and Kandahar are already hard hit by the impact of COVID 19 on the economic accessibility to food.
Children who were not studying will be less likely to be able to do so, and many children whose schools closed will be a risk of not being able to return to studying.
Continued violence is now seen as a threat not, only to the immediate safety and well being of community, but also to overall public health as it may hinder the diseases detection and the delivery of life saving medical care.
The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on access to education poses one of the biggest threats not only to achieving Sustainable Development Goal  ( SDG )  4 of quality education for all globally by 2030, but also the realization of all other human rights and all 17 SDGs in Afghanistan.
The crisis is likely diverting critical and already scarce resources away from the education system in ways that will have long term consequences and will set back progress toward making education universally accessible and compulsory for all children.
The pandemic coincides with an often worsening and unpredictable security situation and ongoing armed conflict, and concerns that already declining donor funding could fall further in the wake of COVID 19. The health crisis is compounding existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, further limiting access to education for children who were already marginalized.
The fact that private school students already have greater access to education than students in government schools is just one indication of the deepening inequalities that are likely to be a widespread consequence of the pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2020, an estimated 65,000 additional people have been displaced.
The global impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic have also seen the flow of remittances impacted, as many Afghans abroad faced unemployment and reduced incomes. Moreover, these issues are compounded with years of conflict and instability that have caused livelihood disruption and displacements.
The extended lockdown in Mazar affected flow of food items to the dependant rural areas challenged food availability, especially in remote districts of these provinces.
Health partners continue to support Government led response to COVID 19.
Socio cultural norms and gender expectations too often do not value girls' education. Child marriage is both a cause and a consequence of girls being driven out of education; 28% of women marry before the age of 18 and 4% before the age of 15.
Across Afghanistan today, only 15 per cent of nurses and two per cent of medical doctors are female. Despite having one of the highest fertility rates in the world, there are only 37 dedicated maternity hospitals. The critical shortage of female medical practitioners and their inability to leave the house endangers women.
School in Afghanistan is not free, even though government primary and secondary schools do not charge fees. Families of students at government schools are expected to provide supplies, which can include pens, pencils, notebooks, uniforms, and school bags. Many children also have to pay for at least some government textbooks.
In 2019, around 722 schools were closed due to insecurity, affecting the education of around 328,094 children.
Afghanistan budgets far less than this, and even with this small percentage of funding the country's education budget continues to be underspent every year.
Afghanistan's education system has been severely impacted by decades of conflict, widespread poverty and humanitarian crisis.
Despite significant improvements in assisting people closer to the geographic location of their injury, especially through first aid trauma posts, high rates of referral continue to be seen from conflict affected districts, suggesting that need is outstripping response capacity in many parts of the country.
Due to unaddressed gaps in the international donor funded public health system, trauma provision is almost exclusively delivered by humanitarian partners in Afghanistan. Indeed, despite the high prevalence of mass casualty incidents, basic and essential surgical care remains outside the seven major elements of the BPHS.
The vast majority of children, 144, were recruited and used for combat roles by the Taliban, with the bulk of these cases documented in the northern and northeastern regions of Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, 563,000 women of reproductive age are under nourished, leaving their children predisposed to low birth weight, short stature, low resistance to infections, and higher risk of disease and mortality.
Some 5,939 civilians were either killed or injured in the first nine months of 2020.
The impacts of COVID 19 are estimated to be less severe in rural areas as households may have access to food stocks from their own production and do not face the same restrictions imposed by the lockdowns. However, where rural markets are integrated with major urban markets, the lockdowns have seen disruption in supply to dependant rural markets, as observed in the Northern regions of Afghanistan, where the rural markets of Samangan, Jawzjan and Sar e pul are closely integrated with Mazar as the main market in the north.
The COVID 19 related price rises are in addition to the already steadily accelerating year on  year inflation. Along with reduction in income, an increase in debts was observed in recent assessments. Around 80% of households reported having debt and 56% stated the level of debt had increased compared to previous year.
In March, the government announced restriction on movements and social distancing regulations which was followed by a nation wide lockdown.
The Government continues to face major challenges in coping with the situation created by COVID19 pandemic due to vast gaps in the health sector's capacities to accommodate the evolving needs of its citizenry.
As the pandemic hit hard on the Afghan economy, trade and transportation have been disrupted and domestic activity slowed sharply, imperiling the livelihood of thousands of Afghan families.
Of the 45 areas analysed, 4 areas were classified in IPC Phase 4  ( Emergency ) ,  ( Badakshan and Daykundi, and Urban areas of Hirat and Kandahar ) , 35 areas in IPC Phase 3  ( Crisis ) , and 6 areas in Phase 2  ( Stress ) .
In the current period, corresponding to the final period of the lean season and pre harvest, 10.9 million  ( 35% of the population )  were estimated to be in IPC Phase 3  ( Crisis )  and Phase 4  ( Emergency ) . This includes 3.5 million  ( 11% )  classified in IPC Phase 4  ( Emergency )  nationwide and 7.4 million  ( 24% )  in IPC Phase 3  ( Crisis ) .
Around 10.9 million people  ( 35% of the population analysed )  are estimated to be in IPC Phase 3  ( Crisis )  or above in the current period  ( April May 2020 ) . These include around 7.38 million people in Crisis  ( IPC Phase 3 )  and 3.47 million people in Emergency  ( IPC Phase 4 ) . In total, four analysis areas were classified in IPC Phase 4  ( Badakshan, Daykundi, Hirat Urban and Kandahar Urban ) .
Of the 430,000 returnees who came back to Afghanistan from Iran in the first 11 months of 2019, about 20 per cent were estimated to have humanitarian needs. Due to a lack of funding, partners were only able to reach six per cent of people with assistance, leaving many severe and critical humanitarian needs unaddressed, which they then carry with them into their place of return. Sometimes this burden of needs is transferred to returnees' families who are already struggling due to the loss of remittances.
The cumulative stress of daily insecurity can undermine a child's ability to learn, grow and develop. There is, on average, nine per cent lower enrolment in education in areas that had a “security incident' the previous year.
Shock  affected school aged children are deprived of their right to education and if timely education support is not provided, their protection, development and lives will also be at risk.
The humanitarian community's capacity to address these escalating needs is also gravely challenged by funding shortfalls.
It is important to emphasize that socio economic cost of the pandemic in Afghanistan largely exceeds the health care cost: the Government needs to finance social protection measures made necessary regarding livelihoods are lost; and that families also bear additional costs of care, transport, isolation of additional family members who may have been in contact with confirmed cases.
Afghanistan is struggling to create the required testing capacity being constrained by lack of personnel and medical equipment. Invariably, the funding and equipment needs for the medical response is way off the ability of Afghanistan to cope.
Women, yet again, are likely to be disproportionately affected by the impact of the virus. The increased care burden of women is likely to expose them to increased risk to contracting COVID 19.
Drought was a major driver of humanitarian need over the past two years, and recent food security assessments have confirmed that hunger and malnutrition remain disturbingly high with approximately 12.4 million people, or one third of the population, projected to be in ‘crisis' and at ‘emergency' levels of food insecurity between June and November 2020.
Afghanistan is highly prone to natural hazards, the frequency and intensity of which are exacerbated by climate change's effects.
Enforcement of legislation meant to protect women from violence remains a challenge. Women's access to justice is limited and women still face inequality before the law. Complex bureaucracy makes it difficult for vulnerable people, particularly those with disabilities, to access government services. These challenges have been further heightened as government facilities and many courts are closed or have greatly reduced working hours due to COVID 19.
Only 50 per cent of children under five have received the full suite of recommended vaccinations to keep them safe and healthy.
Abrupt travel bans and lockdowns are increasing gender livelihood gaps and creating an adverse impact on food security in households.
COVID 19 has also now spread into the prison system where two thirds of facilities are still operating at over their 100 per cent capacity, despite the recent prisoner releases.
Overcrowding is likely to have a severe impact on fighting the spread of COVID 19 in terms of hygiene and physical distancing.
Of the 871 health care workers who have been confirmed to have the virus as of 1 June 2020, 13 have died. As of 1 June, more than five per cent of the total confirmed COVID 19 cases in Afghanistan are among healthcare staff.
Strong evidence exists that Afghanistan is following global trends during lockdowns with a jump in GBV risks, for which support services are limited.
Gender Based Violence was already at disturbing levels before COVID 19.
At the same time, if they do become ill, cultural limits on their movement in combination with a lack of female medical staff are likely to restrict their access to health care  ( both COVID 19 related and non COVID 19  related ) .
Around 30 per cent of the population has limited access to basic health services within a two hour travel radius and the maternal mortality rate is among the highest in the world.
Active conflict, large scale population movements and limited livelihood options continue to deprive people of access to services that are especially urgent in a pandemic, including health, clean water and sanitation.
The challenges from COVID 19 are layered on top of years of under  investment in basic services, inefficiencies and economic stagnation.
Inability to access basic services is a key consequence of the ongoing crisis and is a product of a range of factors including conflict, insecurity and fear, poverty and under investment in critical infrastructure and human resources.
Even before COVID 19, an estimated 93 per cent of people were living on less than $2 per person per day5  ( based on 2016/17 data adjusted for current exchange rates ) ; approximately twice the official national poverty line which is close to $1 per person per day. These 35 million people struggle to meet their needs, undermining the dignity of their living conditions and eroding the community's resilience to shock. This indicates little capacity to absorb the economic shock of COVID 19 and the associated loss of livelihoods.
The need to respond to the multi faceted impacts brought on by the pandemic has also spurred on accelerated planning between humanitarian and development actors, resulting in agreement on the number of people in need of an emergency social safety net.
The risk of eviction is especially real for both returnees and those unable to pay their rent because of COVID 19.
Women and girls are deprived of basic rights, particularly education.
Conflict and displacement have resulted in internally displaced persons  ( IDPs )  and vulnerable people resorting to severe negative coping mechanisms such as early/forced marriages, child labour and begging – a situation that is only exacerbated by COVID  19.
Afghanistan carries the terrible burden of being the world's deadliest conflict for children and now the virus is presenting safety risks for women both in terms of poor access to treatment and a surge of gender based violence.
The country is also facing a protection crisis where people's rights to safety, security and well being are regularly threatened not only by the conflict, but also by the economic implications of COVID 19.
The virus has also reshaped the humanitarian operating environment in Afghanistan, demanding a deeper and wider response from aid agencies, using flexible new approaches to expand reach and ensure life saving support is not interrupted.
Less than six months since the virus' emergence, its humanitarian consequences are now affecting every aspect of life and threatening the survival and well being of the most vulnerable by creating new needs and exacerbating existing ones.
Noting that 687 grave violations against children in Afghanistan were verified in the last three months of 2019, he said that Belgium will keep looking for consensus within the Council with regards to children and armed conflict.
Political uncertainty, delays in the start of the peace process, increasing violence and the imminent full force of the COVID 19 pandemic make this a critical time for Afghanistan as it struggles to emerge from decades of conflict, the Officer in Charge of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan  ( UNAMA )  told the Security Council in a videoconference meeting*on 31 March.
Additionally, the COVID 19 outbreak and response accompanied by an enormous ‘infodemic'   an over abundance of information – some correct and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.
The response to the COVID 19 appears to be quite different in some ways to other epidemics like the Ebola, given the social distancing requirements and the consequent movement restrictions imposed on the whole population, including on humanitarian workers.
The virus and related containment measures, including border closures and the recent lockdown of major cities, have led to:  ( i )  massive disruptions to productive economic activity and consumption;  ( ii )  disruptions to imports, including of vital household items, leading to rapid inflation;  ( iii )  reduced exports due to disruptions at border points;  ( iv )  a sharp decline in remittances.
Violations of international humanitarian law, including attacks on health and education facilities, are now commonplace with students and the sick paying a heavy price in terms of missed classes and medical services.
Political and security volatility has compounded the pandemic's impact. Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places to live on Earth. People face daily risks from Improvised Explosive Device  ( IED )  attacks and air strikes. Fear, violence, repeated displacement, escalating debt and, now, the pandemic, have gradually eroded people's coping capacity and crippled the economy, risking development gains and leaving people in extreme poverty
High internal displacement and overcrowded housing, low coverage of vaccination required for stronger immune systems, in combination with weak health, water and sanitation infrastructure, cultural practices that make physical distancing challenging, and a huge informal labour market have left the people of Afghanistan reeling.
Uncertainty over how this crisis will evolve globally, and within Afghanistan, requires those providing social safety nets to remain adaptable and flexible enough to deliver timely support based on needs at the time, especially for those most vulnerable to chronic food insecurity.
In Afghanistan, it must be noted, whilst unemployment of the head of household is correlated with higher poverty, more than half of the households with a fully employed household head also live below the poverty line.
With nowhere to go and being constantly surrounded by their immediate and extended family, women moreover lost the little private space of their own they had. The combination of increased levels of violence, heightened economic stress at home, additional domestic labour and the loss of this feminine space, has meant that women's mental health has come under tremendous strain during the pandemic.
Rural areas will also experience negative impacts as farmers and agricultural seasonal workers see their livelihoods plummet as supply chains are interrupted.
A household losing half its income usually reduces food consumption by an average of 30 per cent. In times of economic distress and rising prices, urban households are forced to reduce their consumption of nutritionally diverse foods for cheaper nutritionally poor food items such as wheat flour. This has corresponding impacts on children, and pregnant and lactating mothers.
Large shares of the population depend on activities that are vulnerable to lockdowns and physical distancing measures.
Decades of war have eroded people's capacity to cope with constant shocks, pushing them into need faster and making them vulnerable for longer. This, combined with the impacts of the devastating 2018/19 drought, drove the Humanitarian Country Team to re think the parameters for action in 2020 and 2021.
The humanitarian consequences of the crisis now touch all corners of the country. In 2020, the people of Afghanistan are spending their 40th year grappling with the safety, security, financial and emotional consequences of war. Conflict now shapes all aspects of everyday life, posing terrifying protection risks but also having a devastating impact on the country's development. Political uncertainty, grinding poverty, escalating personal debt and repeated exposure to natural disasters have eroded coping capacities and pushed vulnerable people into dire humanitarian need.
Violence against women, particularly in the home, has increased, but Afghanistan's weak protection mechanisms were unable to respond, lacking even safe means for women to report violence, let alone address it. The absence of an inclusive care economy left women carrying the brunt of the extra work and stresses in and around the house. The cost in terms of time and opportunity, as well as the mental and physical toll of the extra unpaid work, has put an immense strain on the small but rising population of working women. It adversely impacts the choices women can make with regard to paid work outside the home, limiting them to mostly part time jobs, that are near their homes and do not demand a lot of extra work or effort, since they already have full times job at home that they have to commit to.
With already so many cultural barriers to female education in place, the impact of missing just a few months of education can be profound for individual girls and women.
Schools were closed for five months until re opening in September this year as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Educational awareness and incentive programmes by the Ministry of Education and international organisations like UNICEF were suspended.
Another shelter manager in Kabul told AAN on 12 July: “We normally have around 30 to 35 women in the shelter, but this has increased to 70 women in these past three months, which is way above the capacity of the shelter.'
Shima Yarzada, Co Director at the Afghan Women Skills Development Centre's shelter, told AAN that the usual number of new admissions per month was between six and eight cases, but that this had increased to 15 to 18 entries per month in their Kabul shelter, since lockdown was announced in late March and later again in June.
In particular, the stress experienced by male heads of household losing employment opportunities and livelihoods, becoming  ( increasingly )  violent at home with wives and children.
The report notes that Covid 19 has affected women's rights in Afghanistan, with social norms impeding women's access to health care, an increase in domestic violence and increased economic inequality.
The report warns that these numbers, which only relate to instances that have been reported, may only capture the most extreme cases, as the lockdown has made it difficult for women to seek help.
AAN's Khadija Hossaini discovered that women also keenly felt the loss of their already limited private space, amid an increase in their unpaid workload at home, both of which have had severe ramifications for their mental health. With some fearing an increase of Covid 19 infections through the winter months, many women are bracing for a return of these problems. The report is based on interviews with women in Kabul, Bamyan, Daikundi and Balkh province.
The pandemic has also had specific consequences for women, particularly during lockdown, including increased levels of domestic violence and reduced access to schools and medical care.
Stigma associated with seeking health assistance for potential COVID 19 cases will create further demands on women's time, if people stay home while they are suffering from the virus and are cared for within their households.
“The living conditions of millions of Afghan families have severely worsened due to the impacts of the COVID 19 outbreak,'said Henry Kerali, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan. “These grants will help the Government of Afghanistan address the urgent needs of most households and ensure that Afghan farmers can continue to produce food at a time when imports and exports are severely disrupted. This will extend economic opportunities and create jobs for the wider rural population.'
The specific risks facing children and students include physical and emotional maltreatment, gender based violence, mental health and psychosocial distress, as well as specific child protection related risks such as child labour, separation and social exclusion.
Internet, radio, TV and e learning programmes are available as distance learning opportunities, but remain expensive and are not considered equivalent to the growing quality of Herat's public and private universities.
Children and families who are already vulnerable due to socio economic exclusion or those who live in overcrowded settings remain at risk.
Quarantine measures, school closures and restrictions on movement disrupt children's routines and social support structures, while placing new stressors on parents and caregivers who may have to find new childcare options or forgo work.
The education sector in Herat is nearly paralyzed given weak IT infrastructure, high cost and low speed internet services, and modest e learning systems. Students and lecturers suffer from these conditions, which continues to worsen as the city is in quarantine.
With 19 districts, the province includes more than 1,000 villages and 1.8 million residents, with an additional 700,000 to 1 million internally displaced persons.
The Covid 19 crisis poses a serious threat to women's engagement in economic activities, especially in informal sectors where women constitute 55 per cent of the work force.
Herat is a melting pot; a province with a 47.6% poverty level, already hard hit by the effects of protracted conflict and drought, and host to thousands of internal displaced persons from neighboring provinces and returnees from Iran.
Reduced access to labor opportunities and significantly increased food prices in urban areas are significantly restricting access to food and income in urban areas of the country. Worst affected households are those dependent on small business/petty trade, remittances, non agriculture wage labor, and low salary workers in Kabul, Herat, Jalal Abad, Mazar, Kandahar, and other main cities.
Agricultural area planted for wheat in the 2019/2020 production year was overall average across the country. However, area planted for wheat was below average in northern areas due to precipitation deficits; favorable precipitation in April was too late to allow for winter wheat planting.
Urban areas in almost 34 provinces of the country have been impacted by reducing access to income and weakening purchasing power due to the COVID 19 lockdown measures.
Equally important is the understanding of issues and concerns relating to food security and livelihoods in urban areas in the context of COVID 19.
A thorough analysis of the needs in different livelihood dimensions and expert missions are required to understand the situation better.
Recent peace negotiations opened opportunities to assess and understand the food insecurity situation in hard to reach areas, especially those where humanitarian partners had limited access.
The Taliban also carried out a campaign of threats, intimidation, harassment and abductions to disrupt the electoral process. Low turn out following threats of violence, reports of voting irregularities and the delayed election results have undermined confidence the electoral process in some sections of the community.
Between 1 April and 30 June 2020, the country task force verified nine incidents of attacks against schools. Attacks were attributed to the Afghan National Ar my  ( two ) , undetermined armed opposition groups  ( two ) , the Taliban  ( two ) , two jointly attributed to the Afghan National Army and the Taliban, and one attributed to international forces. The nine incidents included two attacks deliberately targeting schools, resulting in two students injured, and seven attacks causing incidental harm to schools, resulting in seven students killed and seven injured.
The intra Afghan peace negotiations are underway, but the humanitarian situation in the country remains precarious. As a result of the ongoing political conflicts which have raged in the country for almost four decades, but also earthquakes, droughts and floods, 14 million Afghans are dependent on humanitarian assistance, i.e. more than 40% of the population.
Most households are currently trying to access seeds – mainly wheat – through all possible means, even purchasing seeds on credit, so as not to miss the agriculture season.
The health system in Afghanistan was critically weak even before the pandemic hit, with only around 300 ventilators in the entire country. “The health implications are huge and responsibility for caring for family members falls primarily on women, even if they are sick themselves.
There are currently over 40,000 reported COVID 19 cases in Afghanistan, but testing is extremely limited, so those numbers are feared to be much higher.
Stigma and discrimination related to COVID 19 makes children more vulnerable to violence and psychosocial distress.
Government of Afghanistan lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of COVID 19, between mid March and the end of May, worsened an already desperate food security situation.
A new report reveals Afghanistan has been pushed deeper into an already dire food security crisis, exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic, extreme weather events, ongoing conflict and high food prices, with 13.15 million people, up from 11.15 million people just months ago, now facing acute hunger.
Small scale income generating activities were mostly shut down, leading to diminished savings, impacting the ability to buy food.
In particular, restrictions on movement have significantly reduced job opportunities in Kabul, Herat, and Nangarhar provinces. Additionally, declining levels of remittances from Iran and gulf countries is further decreasing access to income.
Complex bureaucracy makes it difficult for vulnerable people, particularly those with disabilities, to access Government services.
Conflict remains the main driver of displacement, however natural hazards  ( both slow and sudden onset )  also contribute to, and trigger, population movements and humanitarian needs in affected locations. Afghanistan is highly prone to natural disasters, whose frequency and intensity are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, increasing humanitarian needs.
Widespread food insecurity and climbing malnutrition rates are threatening the lives of millions.
The spread of COVID 19, compounded by violence, natural disasters and food insecurity, added to the surge in humanitarian needs, with some 14 million people estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2020.
The armed conflict in Afghanistan puts children's lives at risk more than any other.
With the lingering impacts of the drought, continued insecurity and the impact of the ongoing election impasse coupled with slow economic growth and a labour market unable to absorb the available workforce, a large proportion of the population is finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the daily hardships.
Some 95,000 households  ( 667,450 people )  were estimated to be in need of winterisation support in 2019.