In Numbers
Nearly 20 million people are projected to be acutely food-insecure between November 2022 and March 2023, including more than 6 million people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), according to preliminary estimates
4 million people are acutely malnourished, including 3.2 million children under the age of five
28.3 million people – two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population – require multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance in 2023
Highlights
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WFP’s emergency food and nutrition activities continue. This remains in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) response to the recent de facto authority directive, which bans female Afghans from working for national and international nongovernmental organizations.
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Food assistance for training and most school feeding activities are suspended in line with the IASC decision to suspend non-life saving humanitarian activities for three weeks.
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All humanitarian activities have been suspended in Ghor province by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan. Negotiations with de facto authorities are ongoing.
Situation Update
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On 24 December 2022, de facto authorities issued a directive banning Afghan women from working for international and national non-governmental organizations.
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Nearly 20 million people in Afghanistan are acutely food-insecure (IPC 3+), including more than 6 million people on the brink of famine-like conditions in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), according to preliminary projections for November 2022 to March 2023.
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Afghanistan continues to face the highest prevalence of insufficient food consumption globally. Results from WFP’s October Food Security Update show that nine in ten households consumed insufficient food, with little change over the past 12 months. On average, 90 percent of household income is spent on food, while 50 percent of households rely on coping strategies to meet their basic food needs.
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Female-headed households are disproportionately affected, as 84 percent are unable to consume sufficient food amid restrictions. Women are twice as likely to sacrifice their meals so that their families can eat, compared to male-headed households.
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The current food crisis is perpetuated by a concurrent climate crisis, as 30 out of 34 provinces in Afghanistan report extremely low water quality. The proportion of households feeling the impact of drought in 2022 is six times greater than in 2020 as Afghanistan enters its third consecutive drought year.
WFP Response
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WFP is concerned that the ban on Afghan women working for NGOs will exacerbate the dire humanitarian situation, where 9 out of 10 Afghans cannot get enough to eat.
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In January, WFP has so far reached 1.36 million people with emergency food and nutrition assistance. WFP plans to reach 15 million people this month; however, some activities have been suspended due to the directive.
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Nineteen WFP partners suspended operations following the directive banning female NGO workers. Five partners have indicated they may resume activities in some areas. WFP holds field-level agreements with 98 NGOs, which employ 18,000 national staff members, of which 3,600 are women.
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The prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition programme continues, aiming to reach 783,000 people in January; however the ban saw 115 of 437 mobile health clinics temporarily suspended in January, affecting 82,000 children, and pregnant and lactating women.
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WFP school feeding activities were suspended in line with the IASC’s decision to pause non-lifesaving activities. WFP continues to support 59,000 students via Community-Based Education centers.
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Food assistance-for-training activities have been suspended where the lack of female instructors impedes activities. The suspension impacts 39,300 people, most of whom are women.
