MONITORING (SW) – The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, has said in a new quarterly report that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated over the past three months.
The rise to power of the Islamic Emirate in August 2021 has reportedly increased the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance to 24.4 million, it said. SIGAR has said that the severe drought and the effects of the Ukraine war on food and fuel prices will worsen the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan so now 70% of families are not able to meet their basic food needs in Afghanistan.
According to the State Department’s Humanitarian Information Unit, “since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, humanitarian conditions have deteriorated with over 24.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan—an increase from 18.4 million in 2021. An estimated 22.8 million people need emergency food assistance—more than doubling the March–May 2021 projections. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) increased from 670,000 in early August 2021 to 710,000 by the end of the year.”
Over the coming six months, humanitarian organizations project increases in severe food insecurity, drought, waterborne disease outbreaks, and a marked deterioration of conditions in urban areas. The onset of spring traditionally brings relief from food shortages; however, with Afghanistan in the grips of the worst drought in three decades, below average winter precipitation means the spring harvest is unlikely to improve food security for vulnerable families.
On March 17, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) reported that of the 22.8 million people facing food insecurity in 2022, 8.7 million— more than one-third—remain at risk of famine-like conditions.5 UNICEF estimates that 3.2 million children in Afghanistan will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022, with one million severely malnourished children at risk of death if immediate action is not taken.
The WFP plans to reach 23 million people with food, nutrition, and resilience support in 2022, and reports that it has already reached 14.1 million since January 1.7 UNICEF and its implementing partners reported providing lifesaving nutrition treatment to over 31,000 children just in February 2022.
ENDS
