Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – In a newly released report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has revealed that Afghanistan has received approximately $6.7 billion in humanitarian aid since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The funding, peaking at $3.3 billion in 2022, has been critical in preventing widespread famine and addressing record-high needs among the Afghan population, which reached a staggering 29.2 million in 2023.
The OCHA’s report, titled “Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Impact Analysis 2021-24,” outlines severe economic setbacks, banking disruptions, and the abrupt halt of bilateral development cooperation as driving factors behind Afghanistan’s escalating crisis. These issues have compounded the country’s worst drought in three decades, rising food insecurity, and poverty levels, threatening a collapse of the public health system.
While conflict-related displacements have significantly decreased and fragile improvements in food security have been noted, Afghanistan remains “extremely vulnerable” to natural disasters, climate change, and fluctuating geopolitical factors. The report highlights ongoing challenges for Afghan women and girls, as growing restrictions on their freedoms underscore Afghanistan’s “core protection crisis.”
The report also indicates that with traditional donors no longer present in Afghanistan, the humanitarian community has become a crucial lifeline and the primary point of dialogue with the Taliban administration, referred to as the “de facto authorities (DfA).” The UN’s efforts, it added, have been essential in preventing a deterioration of the humanitarian crisis, especially in the face of mounting restrictions on women.
