KEY MESSAGES
- Economic shocks reportedly remained the primary challenge in the majority (89%) of the assessed settlements, likely driven by droughts (45%) and floods (30%). Livelihoods, primarily dependent on agriculture (68%) and livestock (48%), were reportedly severely affected, with households often resorting to debt (89%) and facing limited food access (86%).
- Food remained the top priority need in 74% of the assessed settlements, with severe hunger declining to 9%, down from 11% in August 2024. Despite that, severe hunger persisted in North East, Baghlan (39%) and Takhar (33%).
- Women and girls faced barriers to accessing services, with 45% of the assessed settlements reportedly requiring them to be accompanied by a relative or female friend to access markets. Similarly, access to health facilities (51%) and water sources (44%) also depended on such accompaniment.
CONTEXT & RATIONALE
The convergence of endemic poverty, decades of conflict, natural hazards, and the fallout from the historic shift to Taliban leadership in August 2021 has led the population to a severe economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. This has resulted in diverse needs and vulnerabilities across the country. The rapidity with which humanitarian needs may escalate, calls for analysis at regular intervals to support geographical and sectoral prioritizations within the humanitarian response.
Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (HSM) seeks to inform the prioritization of emergency needs by monitoring the evolution of vulnerabilities, coping strategies, gaps in basic services, and needs of assessed districts quarterly.
ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
HSM Round Nine was conducted from 14 October to 3 November 2024. A total of 12,009 key informants (KIs) were surveyed. From the total interviewed KIs, 1,773 (15%) were female KIs, and 298 (2%) self-identified as key informants with disabilities.
The HSM Round Nine was conducted across 12,009 settlements within 3,235 Basic Service Units (BSUs), encompassing all 401 districts (administrative level II) across each of the 34 provinces (administrative level I). Humanitarian Situation Monitoring is a key informant-based, district-level assessment with indicative findings. A more detailed description of the methodology is on page 134.
The HSM round nine analysis, which this document is based on, is available on the IMPACT resource centre.