KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• An estimated 2.86 million people are food insecure in 14 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces due to a below-normal wheat crop production following limited rain and snowfall during the winter months, according to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP). Households in northwestern Afghanistan that are dependent on rain-fed wheat crops are expected to experience consumption deficits until the next harvest occurs in the spring of 2012, according to the USAID-supported Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

• As of August 2011, conflict in Afghanistan had displaced more than 472,600 individuals, including approximately 31,000 individuals displaced during the month of July, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The number of individuals displaced between January and July 2011 represents a 50 percent increase compared to the total number of individuals displaced during 2010. 1

• In FY 2011, the U.S Government (USG) provided more than $266.6 million in humanitarian funding to support Afghans affected by conflict and natural disasters. Of the total, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) provided nearly $30.6 million to support humanitarian activities in Afghanistan, benefitting up to 2.9 million individuals, including approximately 415,000 IDPs. In addition, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided nearly $164.1 million in FY 2011 to address emergency food needs in Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) provided more than $71.9 million—including nearly $35.8 million in new funding since mid-July—for humanitarian assistance, livelihoods support, gender-based violence prevention, and protection interventions for Afghans, including refugees who have returned to Afghanistan and Afghan refugees residing in Iran and Pakistan, during FY 2011.