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Situation Update: Humanitarian Response in Afghanistan continues to support thousands affected by crises

December 23, 2022

“The ongoing conflict in our village forced us to move to Ghani Khil district of Nangarhar. After my husband’s death, I have been solely taking care of my four children. Without any source of livelihoods, I was unable to provide food to my children. This worried me a lot. CWSA was first to respond and provide cash assistance when we needed it the most. The assistance provided for three consecutive months allowed me to buy rice, bread, fresh fruits and meat. With my children having three healthy meals every day, I did not have to worry about them sleeping on empty stomachs,” says Fatima, 30, a displaced mother of four.

Afghanistan has faced unprecedented levels of hunger for over a year. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 90% of people in Afghanistan face insufficient food consumption.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that a record 28.3 million people, which is two-third of the country’s total population, will need humanitarian and protection assistance in 2023, up from 24.4 million in 2022 and 18.4 million in 2021.

A national drought was officially declared in June 2021 and is the worst in more than 30 years. In eastern Afghanistan, flash floods in late August 2022 killed at least 20 people in Logar province, with thousands of homes and agricultural land damaged. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan on June 22, 2022, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving 362,000 in need of humanitarian assistance.

To address the immediate needs of communities affected by recurring natural hazards and conflict, Community World Service Asia with the support of its partners[1], has provided assistance to 695 families in Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika under its humanitarian response projects since August 2022.

Almost 6000 project participants, including 1109 men, 1151 women and 3734 children have been provided with cash-based assistance to meet their immediate food security and other essential needs. Priority groups under response included internally displaced people (IDPs), women-headed households and person with disabilities (PWDs). The distribution of cash for food to affected households in nine districts across three provinces in Afghanistan, has helped improve food security and minimise the impact of multiple crises that has led to mass-scale extreme poverty and health concerns.

^{535 households in six districts of Paktika and Khost province of Afghanistan were provided with cash assistance under CWSA’s earthquake response.}

^{The monthly threshold of USD 80 per household (for three consecutive months) derived from the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) guidelines ensures the provision of food and other essential household items.}

^{Project participants are oriented on CWSA’s Complaint Response Mechanism (CRM) in every intervention with communities.}

^{Amna, a project participant under an earthquake response project, was provided with cash assistance to overcome food insecurity.}

^{Naabia, a project participant, lost her home and belongings in the earthquake, forcing the family to live under a makeshift tent, lacking basic facilities such as clean drinking water, healthcare, electricity and gas.}

[1] CWS Japan, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Rapid Response Fund, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Act Church of Sweden and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH)