WFP Afghanistan Country Brief, September 2018

In Numbers

895,000 drought-affected people assisted between January and September 2018

US$1.5 m of cash-for-food assistance distributed in Afghanistan in September

US$80.1 m six months funding requirements (October 2018-March 2019)

Operational Updates

• WFP Afghanistan has started its full-scale response to the current drought. WFP’s response to the drought has three stages. The early response was completed in June and reached 463,000 people across 14 provinces. The enhanced response completed in September and reached 432,000 people across the five worst-hit provinces. The fullscale response began in late September with updated targeting based on preliminary findings of the Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA).

• The full-scale response aims to reach 2.5 million drought-affected people over two phases. In the first, from September to December 2018, WFP will provide up to three months of assistance to 1.4 million people, starting with those in the greatest need. WFP will also preposition commodities to areas that are hard to access in the winter, while preparing its partners and procuring commodities.
  In the second phase, from January to April 2019,
  WFP will provide up to four months of assistance to all 2.5 million targeted women, men, boys and girls.

• In September WFP assisted 101,000 drought displaced people in Herat and Qala-e-Naw.

• Conflict-affected internally displaced people constitute WFP’s most persistent caseload and WFP constantly assesses their needs across the country.
  Between 15 and 30 September, WFP assessed 28,000 IDPs and verified 12,000 for emergency food or cash assistance.

• WFP completed its response in the city of Ghazni, providing food to 33,000 vulnerable people affected by conflict after the city was attacked by anti-government elements in August.

• WFP distributed US$ 1.5 million in cash-based transfers in September to support over 132,000 people, including 78,000 people displaced by the drought in Herat and the families of 7,500 women and men enrolled in vocational training courses.

• The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) transported 2,800 aid workers and 7.4mt of light cargo. In Afghanistan, 160 organizations rely on UNHAS to reach populations in need.