KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan has received approximately $6.7 billion in humanitarian aid since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, according to the UN aid agency.
In a report released on Sunday, November 3, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that the aid enabled the organization and its partners to provide vital assistance to millions in urgent need.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the humanitarian situation in the country has deteriorated significantly, making it one of the world’s most critical crises. Additionally, the country’s vulnerability to intense and recurring natural hazards, such as earthquakes, flooding, and landslides, persists due to its mountainous terrain and environmental degradation.
OCHA indicated that humanitarian needs in Afghanistan reached unprecedented levels in 2023, with over 29 million people depending on aid. The UN agency also mentioned that humanitarian assistance peaked in 2022, amounting to $3.3 billion.
In 2024, nearly 24 million people, primarily women and children, required humanitarian aid, prompting the UN to request $3 billion to assist 17.3 million of them. However, so far, only 30% of the appeal has been funded.
OCHA notes that the Taliban’s restrictive measures against women, particularly the bans on their work and travel, have posed challenges for humanitarian agencies operating in Afghanistan. However, it indicates that some programmatic adjustments have been implemented to address these challenges, such as creating separate office spaces, utilizing gender-separated distribution points, and covering travel costs for male guardians accompanying female staff.
The UN agency notes that while the humanitarian situation has improved compared to previous years, Afghanistan remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters, climate change, and geopolitical factors, all of which could create new needs and worsen existing challenges.
According to the report, the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan decreased from 22.8 million in November 2021 to 14.7 million as of November 2024. Additionally, in 2021, around 1.1 million acutely malnourished children received treatment, and this number has risen to 2.2 million in 2023.
“In 2021, 7.9 million people accessed primary health care; by 2023, this figure had increased to 11.6 million people. During this period maternal mortality rates also reduced from 638 per 100,000 live births to 620 per 100,000 live births,” part of the report reads.
As a way forward, the UN agency suggests that humanitarian organizations should prioritize delivering aid through the female staff for female recipients, uphold monitoring systems to ensure aid reaches the most vulnerable and limit interference from the Taliban.
For donor countries and organizations, OCHA recommends conducting more field visits to Afghanistan, creating global platforms for voices from within the country—particularly those of local NGOs, women, and marginalized groups—and keeping Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis at the top of the political agenda.
