Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024 Summary [EN/Dari/Pashto]

OVERVIEW

An estimated 23.7 million people–more than half of Afghanistan’s population–will require humanitarian assistance to survive in 2024 as the country continues to reel from decades of war and grapple with climate-induced crises, recurrent natural disasters, entrenched poverty, and barriers to women’s participation in public life.

Afghanistan remains first and foremost a protection emergency characterized by high levels of protracted displacement, mine and explosive ordnance contamination, restricted freedom of movement, increased risks of gender-based violence, child labour and early marriage, and increased mental health and psychosocial support needs. Women-headed households are the most vulnerable population group in Afghanistan today, with a higher reliance on ‘emergency’ livelihood coping strategies, increased reports of early marriage of daughters, and higher rates of food insecurity and child labour when compared to male-headed households.

Nearly half of all Afghans live in poverty, with rates particularly high among women. Despite low-level economic stabilisation in 2023, 65 per cent of families still experienced an economic shock. Fragile economic conditions are expected to continue to contribute to acute food insecurity in 2024, affecting 15.8 million people.

The country is also facing climate-change induced crisis. Twenty-five out of 34 provinces are experiencing drought-like conditions and 67 per cent of households reporting difficulty in accessing water. Natural disasters also elevated needs, with three 6.3 magnitude earthquakes in Herat Province leaving 275,000 people in need of urgent shelter support.

Of the 23.7 million people in need of life-saving assistance, humanitarian partners have prioritized 17.3 million people to receive well-coordinated multi-sectoral assistance in 2024, for which US$3.06 billion is required. Key priorities include food aid, safe drinking water, healthcare, education, and addressing acute water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs. The protection of vulnerable groups, especially women, children and those living with disabilities, remains paramount.