• Crisis Severity ?
    4.4
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Impact ?
    4.6
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Humanitarian Conditions ?
    4.5
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Complexity ?
    4.2
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Access Constraints ?
    4.0
    No constraints
    Extreme constraints

Key figures

  • 43,100,000 Total population [?]
  • 37,600,000 People affected [?]
  • 22,411,000 People displaced [?]
  • 28,400,000 People in Need [?]

Special Reports

24/04/2023

Special Reports

11/04/2023

Special Reports

27/02/2023

Overview

15/08/2022

Following an offensive that saw the Taliban take control of almost all districts previously held by the government, the Taliban entered the capital Kabul in August 2021 and consolidated their power in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan government collapsed, and the Taliban nominated some of their members to form a government in communication with a ‘coordination council’ formed by Afghan leaders to manage the transfer of power. ?Despite the Taliban’s taking control of much of the country, other resistance and armed groups started to challenge their authority. ?

Over 24 million people require humanitarian assistance in 2022.?Economic shocks are the main driver of humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. The average monthly income has fallen by 15% since last year. Reduced incomes, increased debt, and rising prices for basic goods such as food and fuel have resulted in households spending less on essential services including education and healthcare. Households in rural areas are particularly affected by the deteriorating economy, reporting higher debt and a higher proportion using emergency coping mechanisms than households in urban areas. Drought-affected communities, households having a member with a disability, and women-headed households with children, particularly girls, are more vulnerable to economic hardship. Access to food remains the priority need.?

Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes, drought and floods. The government had declared drought conditions in June 2022. Water resources are increasingly strained owing to below-average precipitation since October 2020. Drought has triggered internal displacement, decreased livelihood opportunities, and contributed to food insecurity ?. Flooding regularly affects various parts of Afghanistan, particularly northern and eastern areas. ?

Latest Developments

12/04/2023

On April 4 2023, the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for the UN in Afghanistan, a move that has drawn condemnation from the UN SG. The UN has requested its 3,300 Afghan employees, which include 400 women, to refrain from attending work, with limited exceptions for critical tasks. The ban will limit access to critical services and aid for 28.3 million people and make it more difficult for responders to reach the 11.6 million women and girls in need of assistance. This ban comes at a time when 95% of Afghans, including almost all women-led households, are not getting enough food. The ban will decrease household income and increase pressure on male family members as the sole breadwinners while the country is going through an economic crisis. Limiting employment options for women increases the risk of exposure to protection threats.
The ban is the latest in a series of restrictions imposed on Afghan women by the Taliban since the group regained power in August 2021. The UN is reviewing its presence in Afghanistan given the continued violation of women's rights and the significant disruption to its operations?

Humanitarian Access

07/07/2022

very high Constraints 

Afghanistan faced Very High humanitarian access constraints in the past six months, scoring 4/5 in ACAPS Humanitarian Access Index. The humanitarian access situation has been improving because the widespread conflict and displacement subsided, allowing better access for humanitarians to people in need and resulting in a slight improvement in the access score. 

For more information you can consult our latest Global Humanitarian Access Overview – July 2022

Risk

A severe economic crisis, harsh winter and disruption of aid and winterisation support the increase in food insecurity and malnutrition until July-August Latest update: 29/03/2023

Probability

Highly unlikely Somewhat likely Highly likely

Impact

Very low Moderate Major

Key Concerns

29/01/2023

Food: 20 million people in Afghanistan faced crisis (IPC Phase 3) or higher levels of food insecurity between March and May 2022.  ?

Protection: Women face restrictions in accessing property, education, and healthcare, and experience high rates of gender-based violence.?

Education: The protracted conflict and insecurity affect access to education, particularly for girls and women. In December 2022, women were banned from accessing higher education, including universities, following the ban on girls from accessing high school in March. The bans are for an indefinite time.?As a result, 2.5 million women and girls currently do not have access to education in Afghanistan. ?At the same time, restrictions on women from working with local and international NGOs make it more challenging for children to access the essential services that female humanitarian workers used to provide, including education.?In rural areas, the lack of schools, insufficient transportation, and geographical barriers add another layer of difficulty for children to access education.?

Lessons Learnt

15/08/2022

Months with higher temperatures, usually April–October/November, represent the Afghan fighting season – as milder temperatures make roads and other infrastructure, as well as mountain passes, more accessible.?

Heavy rains, which usually fall from January–April, often cause flash floods and landslides in remote northern areas of Afghanistan.?

Afghanistan CrisisInSight Core Dataset

22/09/2022

The ACAPS Afghanistan Analysis Hub aims to support a stronger evidence base for humanitarian decision-makers in Afghanistan through inter-sectoral and forward-looking analysis.

This dataset brings together data from a range of sources to provide a greater overall and comparative understanding of the current situation and context inside each district. The core indicators consist of key drivers (conflict, basic commodity prices, exclusion and marginalisation, and disrupted access to life-saving services and income sources) and their major expected humanitarian impacts (food insecurity, cholera).

ACAPS tracks changes in these indicators and alerts the humanitarian community to emerging trends or risks that could overwhelm local coping mechanisms in Afghanistan, triggering a humanitarian emergency.

The dataset is published on HDX and can be found here.