KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned on Sunday, 8 February, that Afghanistan’s shelter crisis is expected to deepen in 2026, as the country continues to face overlapping humanitarian challenges driven by natural disasters, economic hardship, mass returns, and deepening gender inequalities.
According to OCHA, an estimated 4.2 million people across Afghanistan will require shelter assistance in 2026. Humanitarian partners have prioritized 881,000 of the most vulnerable people for immediate support, for which USD 160.3 million is required. Assistance is planned across all 34 provinces and will include emergency shelter, non-food items (NFIs), winter assistance, repair of damaged homes, and transitional shelter solutions.
OCHA reports that Afghanistan remains highly vulnerable to floods, earthquakes, and landslides, which are expected to place further strain on already limited shelter resources. In 2025 alone, more than 15,000 people were affected by floods and heavy rainfall, with 90 percent still living in tents or damaged homes due to insufficient funding for repairs.
The crisis has been compounded by large-scale population movements. Over four million people have returned to Afghanistan, with half arriving since January 2025. Despite this influx, 24 percent of returnee families continue to identify shelter as their primary need, highlighting critical gaps in humanitarian support. While informal settlements have decreased over the past two years, approximately 390,000 households remain in nearly 900 informal settlement sites, many of which are now hosting recent returnees from Pakistan and Iran.
Gender disparities further exacerbate shelter vulnerabilities. Findings from the Whole of Afghanistan Assessment 2025 indicate that female-headed households are disproportionately affected, reporting higher rates of inadequate or non-functional shelters and facing greater risks of eviction due to insecure tenure. Shelter conditions are consistently poorer for women-headed households compared to male-headed ones, particularly in rural areas where unsafe and inadequate heating sources are commonly used. “Shelter conditions are notably poorer for female-headed households compared to male-headed households, with a higher incidence of inadequate or non-functional shelters—15% for women versus 12% for men—indicating a more vulnerable profile. “
Economic constraints, social barriers, and restricted mobility continue to limit women’s access to shelter repairs and humanitarian assistance.
OCHA emphasized that the protection of vulnerable groups—especially women, children, and persons with disabilities—will remain central to shelter programming in 2026. The Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items (ES-NFI) Cluster plans to prioritize repairs, retrofitting, and transitional shelter solutions that enhance safety, privacy, accessibility, and dignity for those most at risk.
Humanitarian assistance will focus on households affected by sudden-onset disasters, families at risk of eviction, vulnerable cross-border returnees, populations with protracted needs following 2025 disasters, and communities in high-risk districts requiring winterization support. Aid will be delivered through flexible modalities, including in-kind assistance, cash, and vouchers, depending on context and needs.
Despite these plans, OCHA noted that the operational environment in Afghanistan remains highly challenging, with bureaucratic restrictions and access constraints complicating humanitarian work. The agency stated that it will continue to engage with de facto authorities to preserve humanitarian space and ensure continued access, including for female humanitarian workers.
Afghanistan has experienced multiple earthquakes and floods over the past year, destroying thousands of homes and leaving many families without adequate shelter. In addition, more than 2.5 million migrants have returned from Pakistan and Iran in the past year, further increasing demand for housing and driving up shelter costs across the country.
OCHA warned that without sufficient funding and sustained international support, millions of Afghans will remain exposed to harsh weather conditions, displacement, and protection risks in 2026.
