Afghanistan – OCHA’s longer-term view
The following is part of the daily briefing from UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published on World Humanitarian Day, 19 August 2021.
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly.
Since January 2021, more than 550,000 people have been newly internally displaced and 735,000 people have returned to the country from Iran, Pakistan and other countries and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
Humanitarian needs are expected to deteriorate further in the second half of the year due to drought. Some 12.2 million people are already acutely food insecure and the majority of those will be further affected by drought.
Below-average wheat harvest is expected and livestock yield is expected to be weak due to poor pastures and feed availability. Agricultural labour activities are estimated to have reduced by 28 per cent due to the conflict and drought, adding to this vulnerability.
According to modelling, severe acute malnutrition increased by 16 per cent and moderate acute malnutrition increased by 11 per cent, impacting 900,000 and 3.1 million children, respectively.
Prices for food commodities continue to be at elevated levels. Further temporary inflationary effects with conflict-related movement restrictions have affected the prices of staples. Wheat, rice, sugar and cooking oil have increased by more than 50 per cent compared with pre-COVID-19 prices, with monthly increases in 2021 of between 1 and 4 per cent.
The Humanitarian Response Plan is just 37 per cent funded, with more than half the year over.
Funding for emergency shelter and relief items is particularly urgent due to the surge in displacement, but only 4 per cent of the funds required have been received.