Attachments
Situation in numbers
- 22.9 M People in need of humanitarian assistance (HNRP 2025)
- 12 M Children in need of humanitarian assistance (HNRP 2025)
- 857,000 Children under 5 expected to need treatment for severe acute malnutrition (HNRP 2025)
- 14.3 M People in need of humanitarian health assistance (HNRP 2025).
Highlights
- In 2025, more than 50 percent of the population — nearly 23 million people — require humanitarian assistance.
- Political developments in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran have contributed to a returnee crisis in Afghanistan. Between January and May 2025, more than 450,000 Afghans returned from Iran, including 30,266 families.
- In May, more than 7 million people accessed essential health services at UNICEF-supported static health facilities and mobile health and nutrition teams. 1.3 million children were screened for wasting, of whom 3,930 (51 per cent girls) were admitted to the in-patient facility while 52,676 (58 per cent girls) were admitted for outpatient treatment. UNICEF also distributed Teaching and Learning Materials to over 261,000 children (39 per cent girls) in Zabul, Ghor, and Herat provinces.
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Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
People in Afghanistan continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis defined by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate-induced shocks, large population growth and increasing protection risks, especially for women and girls. In 2025, more than 50 per cent of the population - some 23 million people - require humanitarian assistance. This assistance is rapidly decreasing.
Political developments in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran have contributed to a returnee crisis in Afghanistan, which peaked in the last quarter of 2024 and early 2025. Since the beginning of May 2025, Afghanistan has recorded a sharp rise in the forced return of Afghan nationals from Iran. Between January and May 2025, more than 450,000 Afghans returned from Iran, including 30,266 families. Male returnees dominate the broader returnee population, but when families return, women and children make up the majority. Notably, 955 returnee families were recorded on the 29th of May alone. Of the total recorded undocumented Afghan migrants 8 per cent were women, 21 per cent children and 71 per cent men. However, the gender and age breakdown for undocumented returnees who returned with their families were 28 per cent women, 46 per cent children and 26 per cent men. The proportion of families among returnees surged dramatically. In May, families accounted for approximately 44 per cent of all returnees, compared to 26 per cent in April, a month within which the returning population predominantly comprised single men. Furthermore, the proportion of families among returnees in January 2025 was 11 per cent.
Despite the prospects of a favourable productive season, high levels of acute food insecurity persist in Afghanistan due to the impact of repeated shocks on a fragile socio-economic landscape, marked by deep-rooted economic, social, physical, and environmental vulnerabilities. During the projection period (May to October 2025), which coincides with the harvest season in Afghanistan, an estimated 9.52 million people (21 per cent of the population) are classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (crisis or worse). This includes 1.6 million people (4 per cent of the total population) classified in IPC Phase 4 (emergency) and around 7.93 million (17 per cent of the total population) classified in IPC Phase 3 (crisis). The food security situation in the projection period remains worst in Badakhshan and Sar-e-Pul with 40 per cent of the population classified in IPC Phase 3 and above, followed by Faryab, Ghor, Samangan with 35 per cent of both populations classified in IPC Phase 3 and above. Afghanistan ranks among the top 15 countries with the highest rates of child wasting. Over 3.5 million children under five in Afghanistan are acutely malnourished including 1.4 million suffering from life-threatening forms.
Afghanistan continues to remain highly susceptible to epidemic-prone diseases. The epidemiological curve shows an increasing trend in the first 8 week of the year, which coincides with the start of warmer weather. Since January 2025 to 17 May, 42,304 cases of acute water diarrhoea (AWD) with dehydration were reported with 12 associated deaths (CFR = 0.03 per cent). Out of total cases, 20,761 (49.1 per cent) were females, while 24,707 (58.4 per cent) were children under-five. During the same period, the highest cumulative incidence of AWD with dehydration per 10,000 population was reported from Nimroz (39.9), followed by Khost (29.6), Paktya (27.3), Farah (24.8), and Kabul5. The epi curve of suspected measles cases has also shown a steady increase since the beginning of 2025, reaching its highest peak in week 16 with 4,172 reported cases. Since the beginning of 2025, around 55,678 suspected measles cases and 357 associated deaths (CFR=0.6 per cent) were reported. Out of total cases, 26,125 (46.9 per cent) were females, while 43,840 (78.7 per cent) were under-five children. The highest cumulative incidence of suspected measles cases per 10,000 population has been reported from Helmand (50.2), followed by Nuristan (37.0), Badakhshan (32.5), Jawzjan (30.6), and Uruzgan (28.5).