KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN has raised concerns over growing Taliban interference in humanitarian operations across Afghanistan, reporting that at least 56 aid projects were suspended in January alone.
In a report released on Tuesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that while some projects resumed after brief suspensions, 48 remain on hold, severely disrupting aid delivery to millions in need.
Humanitarian organizations documented 87 cases of interference last month, OCHA stated, including “disruptions to programming, requests for sensitive data like staff lists, restrictions on women aid workers, staff recruitment, and interference in beneficiary selection.”
The report also highlighted a sharp rise in Taliban detentions of aid workers, with 34 individuals—including nine women—detained in January, a 161% increase from the previous month. As of February, 15 of them remain in Taliban custody.
Beyond direct interference, the Taliban issued 12 directives in January that further complicated humanitarian operations. “The issuing authorities primarily included the Directorate of Economy (8), the Directorate of Public Health (1), the Provincial Governor (1), the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (1), and the Department of Finance (1),” OCHA said.
Despite these challenges, the UN agency says humanitarian organizations continue to operate under increasingly difficult conditions, warning that further disruptions could worsen an already severe crisis.
Afghanistan remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies, with the UN estimating that nearly 23 million people—more than half the population—require life-saving assistance this year. The World Bank reported last week that 12.6 million Afghans are struggling to access food, with nearly 3 million on the brink of starvation.
Meanwhile, the U.S., previously Afghanistan’s largest donor, has recently suspended its aid, forcing humanitarian organizations to scale back critical assistance to millions in desperate need.
