KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has appealed for $603.5 million to support essential winter preparedness activities in Afghanistan this year.
In its recent report, OCHA stated that the activities include upgrading and repairing shelters, as well as providing warm clothing and blankets, all of which must be implemented within the next three months.
The UN agency also noted that an additional $104 million is needed to pre-position supplies, including food and livelihood assistance before weather conditions cut off access to certain areas.
“Food and livelihoods assistance accounts for more than 75 percent of the $603.5 million required for immediate winter preparedness activities in the last quarter of 2024, and more than 40 percent of the $104 million needed for prepositioning in early 2025,” OCHA said.
According to the report, out of Afghanistan’s over 400 districts, 171 are classified as high priority, 227 as medium priority, and 3 as low priority for humanitarian needs.
“Humanitarian needs are still omnipresent, and people’s vulnerabilities are compounded by emerging threats – such as atypical summer floods, forced evictions, drought-like conditions in some areas, and a worsened situation in terms of limitations on women and girls to access assistance and services, especially tailored assistance,” the UN agency said.
“While the Prioritisation points to the most immediate gaps, the reality is that the differences in needs between the high-priority areas and beyond are only marginal,” it added.
Following the Taliban takeover, the humanitarian situation in the country has significantly deteriorated, making it one of the world’s most critical crises. According to the UN, approximately 23.7 million people in Afghanistan, which is over half of the population and includes more than 50% of women and children, required humanitarian assistance this year.
The country has also been grappling with numerous natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rains, flooding, and landslides in recent years. These events, in addition to human costs, caused significant financial losses for the already impoverished population.
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies have struggled with a significant funding shortfall over the past three years. The UN reported earlier that only 25% of its $3.06 billion appeal for Afghanistan this year has been funded so far.
