Humanitarian Action for Children 2023 - Afghanistan

HIGHLIGHTS

• Afghanistan is experiencing unprecedented and rising humanitarian needs. Some 28.3 million people, more than 65 per cent of the population, are projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023.

• Afghan women and girls are facing a systematic rights crisis. Their exclusion from secondary education and the workforce – and the imposition of rules governing their daily lives – has significantly increased their protection risks. The impacts will be felt for generations to come.

• The economic crisis is expected to continue, with 64 per cent of households unable to meet their basic needs. This is coupled with a historic third La Niña drought, harsh winters and other climate-related risks. Vulnerable populations will be pushed to the brink.

• UNICEF will continue to prioritize life-saving activities in underserved areas with multifaceted needs. Interventions will focus on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, nutrition, education and child protection. The UNICEF response will include gender-based violence services and the use of cash-based assistance to respond to sudden-onset disasters, avert catastrophe and meet existing humanitarian needs.

• US$1.7 billion is urgently needed to meet the humanitarian needs of 19 million people in Afghanistan.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS

More than 64 per cent of people in Afghanistan cannot meet their basic needs due to cascading crises that have shifted from conflict to economic shock, drought and a gender crisis. By December 2022, per capita income in the country is expected to be one-third lower than in 2020. The situation for women and girls has deteriorated: restrictions have created barriers to accessing services, curtailed basic freedoms and deprived many women of income-earning opportunities. The ban on girls’ secondary education affects 1.1 million girls, creating significant learning and protection risks. This will impact generations to come.

Historic levels of aid in 2022 largely averted catastrophe. Needs have increased, though, due to economic sanctions, climate-related disasters and the significant reduction in development assistance. Nearly 20 million people are projected to be in emergency levels of food insecurity. In 15 out of 34 provinces, severe wasting levels are above 3 per cent, with 875,000 children under age 5 requiring life-saving treatment for severe wasting. Without scaled-up multi-sectoral interventions, the possibility of famine cannot be excluded.

WASH needs will increase with a third consecutive La Niña likely on the horizon. Sixty-four percent of surveyed households are affected by drought, with 79 percent reporting lack of water and 51 percent reporting no access to improved latrines. outbreaks continue, among them an outbreak of diarrhoea that has sickened more than 2 million people.

While the health system has narrowly avoided collapse, 13.3 million people have no access to health care, largely due to the lack of infrastructure, coupled with high costs. Facilities remain understaffed and under resourced and many are consistently short of medicines and supplies. Approximately 8.7 million children need education support. Negative coping mechanisms are commonplace: 31 per cent of households report at least one child out of school, and 18 per cent report sending children to work. In fact, more than 1 million children are estimated to be working. Before August 2021, 9 out of 10 women were experiencing gender-based violence at some point in their lifetime; post-August 2021, support networks of shelters, legal mechanisms and medical treatment services have collapsed.

Afghanistan is ranked number 5 of the countries that are most climate at-risk worldwide, with a higher warming rate than the global average. Floods and other natural hazards affected more than 223,000 people in 2022 - double the five-year average.

The operating environment in Afghanistan remains highly complex. While physical access to people in need has largely improved, bureaucratic impediments, threats and intimidation of humanitarian workers and restrictions on female humanitarian workers have increased significantly, hindering the delivery of critical life-saving services. UNICEF continues to advocate for unimpeded and principled access to people in need.