Afghanistan: Revised Humanitarian Response Plan (Jun - Dec 2023)

2023 HRP Revision Summary

SO1 Mortality and morbidity of crisis-affected people of all gender and diversities are reduced through timely, multi-sectoral, lifesaving, equitable and safe assistance.

SO2 The protection risks of the most vulnerable are mitigated and the needs of affected persons of all genders and diversities are monitored and addressed through humanitarian action.

SO3 Vulnerable crisis-affected people of all gender and diversities are supported to build their resilience and live their lives in dignity.

The prohibition on Afghan women working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the United Nations (UN) in Afghanistan is not an isolated or unprecedented event, but rather reflective of a series of increasingly restrictive measures imposed by the Taliban de-facto authorities (DFA) on Afghan women and girls since August 2021 which have sought to erase them from all aspects of public life. These restrictions include barriers to education, public spaces, movement and work.

Following the initial ban on Afghan women working for NGOs, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) supported the humanitarian community in Afghanistan in making the transition from a ‘partial operational pause’ to an ‘operational trial period’. During this period, humanitarian actors continued their work while striving for improved operating space through national-level and sector-wide exemptions, as well as local authorisations, operating within agreed-upon minimum criteria for operations. These criteria include: i) maintaining a needs-based response; ii) adjusting response methods to include all aspects of protection with a tight monitoring of implementation; iii) ensuring that women’s participation in the response is amplified through a commitment of no replacement, continued hiring and provision of support to meet conditions to facilitate work, as well as the deployment of mixedgender teams; iv) application of minimum standards for accountability to affected people (AAP); and v) prioritisation of gender-responsive programming.

In light of the changing operating environment, the 2023 HRP underwent a revision in May 2023. The purpose was to assess the validity of initial planning assumptions made in the fourth quarter of 2022 and adjust the response accordingly. Simultaneously, the humanitarian community monitored the permissiveness of the operating environment and the ability of partners to comply with the IASC’s “minimum criteria for operations” of the IASC through the dedicated ‘IASC Monitoring Framework’.

The mid-year revision primarily focused on prioritizing the response planning based on changes in the number of people requiring assistance, planned activities, and geographic priorities. The adjustments were informed by a realistic assessment of the capacity of humanitarian partners to deliver aid. The revision also entailed changes in overall and sector-level response approaches, emphasising quality, accountability, and scale. Additionally, it served as an opportunity to evaluate the main drivers of need and identify emerging threats not anticipated at the start of the year. As necessary, adjustments were made to programme and operating costs, considering commodity prices and expenses associated with meeting the DFA conditionalities.

Several datasets informed the revision process, including an updated analysis of the operating environment’s risks, population projections, revised food insecurity estimates, severity analysis through the Needs Monitoring Framework, Minimum Expenditure Basket, Cluster-specific capacity analyses, and updated response approach guidance on AAP, gender, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), and Disability Inclusion in humanitarian response.

Summary of Changes in the Revision

Humanitarian needs remain extensive and prevalent across all sectors and throughout the country. The Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT) Needs Monitoring Framework identifies different severity hotspots in various sectors (please see "NMF MultiSectoral Severity Map" in the Annex). Although there has been a slight improvement in the food insecurity outlook, it is no longer the sole indicator of vulnerability, following the revision of the sampling and analysis lens to rural and urban domains at the start of 2023.

Revised Figures

The revised HRP aims to reach 20 million people with multi-sectoral assistance between June and December 2023, requiring US$2.26 billion in new funding.

Amidst challenging circumstances, the humanitarian community maintained a broad response throughout the initial five months of the year. During this period, assistance was provided to more than 17.3 million individuals, ensuring at least one round of support. The expenditure for this period amounted to $942 million, which includes $850 million carried over from 2022.

Taking into account the assistance already delivered between January and May, and the planned response for the remainder of 2023, humanitarian partners have set their sights on reaching a total of 22.3 million people (throughout 2023) (5 million women, 5.3 million men, 5.8 million girls, 6.2 million boys), with a budget of $3.2 billion. Of this, $2.26 billion represents new funding requirements for the period between June and December, while the remaining $942 million already spent between January and May.