Attachments
These collective messages were developed by the Accountability to Affected People Working Group to support the Afghanistan’s Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT) deliver on its collective commitment to accountability to affected people in humanitarian response. The ICCT regularly engages Afghan communities to learn about the impacts of US funding suspension on them and use their voices to support advocacy on their behalf.
Primary audience: Crisis-affected people including men, women, young people, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups across Afghanistan.
Dissemination: These collective messages should be tailored to agencies’ programming and translated into several local languages as relevant. Cluster partners and aid providers who have been impacted by the US funding suspension are expected to disseminate these messagesthrough user-friendly formats and communication channels by considering gender and inclusion lenses.
Key messages
• Many of you will have seen news reports from television, social media or heard from radio, community leaders, neighbours and aid workers about the US funding suspension on aid assistance across the globe, including Afghanistan. Your communities may have been impacted with the closure of various humanitarian aid services in the past few weeks.
• In 2024, the US funded 47 per cent of humanitarian work in Afghanistan (globally over 40 per cent in the past years), meaning that it has likely supported many of the services and assistance you have received from humanitarian organizations. We are looking into how we can be more efficient with the funding that remains and will ensure that you and your communities are at the center of this thinking.
• We recognize the challenges that this situation presents to you and your communities. Due to limited resources, we have been trying to identify communities where our lifesaving services are most needed so we can prioritize them with available resources. In communities where we continue to deliver assistance, our services continue to be free of charge. We do not require any exchange of favours from communities that access our services at anytime and in any situation.
• We anticipate increasingly challenging times ahead, as we navigate this period, we encourage you to continue engaging with us and with your community leaders to highlight your most urgent priorities and the potential risks that result from the closure of the services.
• We know in time of crisis that false information is easily spread and can cause real harm and confusion. It is important to question rumours or online media that might be trying to spread fake news and go to your community leaders or people you trust for credible information.
• If you or your community face urgent needs, we encourage you to reach out to your community leaders or community associations/networks to explore available options or call AWAAZ helpline (410). AWAAZ helpline is free of charge and available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Your concerns will be directed to the relevant aid providers for response.
• We encourage you to act together as a community to keep vulnerable people safe, including children, elderly, people with disabilities, and others who may need special assistance or help.
What we know so far on the initial impacts on humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan
Cash assistance: Due to funding shortage, there will be some changes to cash assistance. Humanitarian organizations will continue to provide cash and voucher support, but fewer households will receive it. Priority will be given to those most in need, similar to other types of assistance.
Food security and agriculture: There is a possible break of food assistance in the coming months.
Health: As of 11 March, at least 191 health facilities have been closed or suspended, denying 1.7 million people access to primary health care.
Education: There is less impact on education support as the cluster continues to collect data from partners.
Nutrition: 396 nutrition services have closed depriving nearly 12,000 of acutely malnourished children and 5,000 women treatment threatening to increase mortality rates. Hundreds of thousands of children under five years and pregnant and breastfeeding women will be affected by reduced access to critical nutrition services because of the cancellation of funding.
Water, sanitation and hygiene: Water system rehabilitations, latrine repairs, hygiene promotion, and the distribution of hygiene kits are disrupted.
Emergency shelter and non-food items: Nearly 11,200 people will not receive shelter repair support, and 17,500 people have missed out on winter assistance. Tens of thousands of people including thousands of returnees and disaster-affected individuals now risk missing out on emergency disaster assistance, and transitional shelter.
Protection: There is a major impact on protection services affecting 3.3 million individuals, including 1.6 million children due to the suspension of child protection services, and one million women survivors of violence due to the suspension of 115 services.
For more information please contact the Collective AAP Leads (UNFPA): Ahmadullah Fazly (fazly@unfpa.org) and Husni (husni@unfpa.org)