KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations has allocated $48.5 million in emergency humanitarian aid for Afghanistan amid the country’s deepening crisis, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Friday.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), OCHA Afghanistan stated that $19 million of the funding comes from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) under its Underfunded Emergencies window, while the remaining $29.5 million has been provided through the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF).
Indrika Ratwatte, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, described the aid as “timely and generous” during a period when the global humanitarian system is under “immense pressure.”
“The people of Afghanistan continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis, shaped by decades of war, poverty, climate shocks, and increasing protection risks,” Ratwatte said in a video message posted on X, adding that more than half of Afghanistan’s population—primarily women and children—require assistance to survive.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan have sharply worsened, placing the country among the world’s most severe crises. The UN estimates that nearly 23 million people need humanitarian aid in 2025, with women and children among the most vulnerable.
OCHA has warned that 3.5 million children under the age of 5 and over one million pregnant and breastfeeding women in Afghanistan are at risk of acute malnutrition.
Despite the rising needs, funding shortfalls have hindered relief efforts over the past three years. The UN’s $3.06 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan in 2024 remained severely underfunded, with only 40% of the required amount secured.
For 2025, the UN has launched a $2.42 billion appeal, aiming to reach 16.8 million people in desperate need, but the global community’s response remains uncertain.
