The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it is being forced to drop another 2 million hungry people from food assistance in Afghanistan in September, bringing to 10 million the number of people cut off from its support this year in the country. Due to a massive funding shortfall, WFP will only be able to provide emergency assistance to 3 million of the most vulnerable people per month, the UN agency said in a statement Tuesday.
“Amid already worrying levels of hunger and malnutrition, we are obliged to choose between the hungry and the starving, leaving millions of families scrambling for their next meal,” said Hsiao-Wei Lee, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Afghanistan.
“With the few resources we have left, we are not able to serve all those people teetering on the edge of utter destitution.”
In March, the UN agency had to reduce rations from 75 to 50 percent for communities experiencing emergency levels of hunger. Since April, the World Food Programme started cutting millions of people from its emergency food assistance due to severe funding constraints. In April and May, it was forced to exclude 8 million people from food assistance.
WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, is often the last lifeline for women, who are increasingly being pushed out of society, with dwindling options for making a living and feeding their children. The new cuts mean that 1.4 million new and expecting mothers and their children are no longer receiving specialized food designed to prevent malnutrition. The UN agency expects to see a sharp rise in admissions to nutrition centers in the months to come as children slide deeper into hunger.
“A small window of opportunity remains to avert catastrophe in Afghanistan, but we are running out of time,” said Lee.
“The cost of inaction will be paid by the most vulnerable women and children reeling from the impact of 40 years of conflict, a crippled economy and a worsening climate crisis.”
For the coming six months, WFP needs US$1 billion to reach a planned 21 million people with lifesaving food and nutrition assistance as well as livelihood support. This includes funding to pre-position food for communities that will become cut off during the harsh Afghan winter.
As needs skyrocket globally, WFP is urging donor governments to prioritize funding for humanitarian operations.
Afghanistan remains in the grips of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Millions in the country are experiencing misery and hunger amid decades of conflict. The cumulative effects of violent conflict, internal displacement, drought and other natural disasters have drastically increased humanitarian needs throughout the South Asian country.
More than 15 million people in Afghanistan face acute hunger, including nearly 3 million people in emergency levels of food insecurity. 4 million people are acutely malnourished, including 3.2 million children under the age of 5.
28.3 million people - two-thirds of the country’s population - require humanitarian assistance in 2023, an increase of 16 percent compared to the previous year. Among those in need are 15.3 million boys and girls.
For 2023, the United Nations and humanitarian partner organizations launched an appeal of $3.23 billion to ease the plight of millions of people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the country. The Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) remains severely underfunded, with many aid programs already closed due to insufficient resources. As of September 6, less than 27 percent of the HRP have been provided by donors.
The World Food Programme, the biggest recipient of appeal funding, is in the midst of a crippling financing crisis that is forcing the organization to scale back life-saving assistance at a time when acute hunger globally reached record levels.
Like most UN aid agencies, WFP is suffering a serious cash shortfall for its operations. Since March, the UN food agency has therefore slashed aid to millions of people and suspended emergency assistance to millions more worldwide.
Among the countries and situations most affected by these cuts are Bangladesh (Rohingya refugees), Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan, Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Nigeria, and Yemen. But these persistent funding shortfalls have also led to reduced rations for Congolese refugees in Burundi or refugees hosted in Chad.
The UN agency said Tuesday almost half of its country operations have already cut - or plan to cut soon - the size and scope of food, cash and nutrition assistance programs.
Cindy McCain, who took over as head of WFP in early April this year, has pledged to increase funding and find new donors, but so far there have been no noticeable improvements. Millions of vulnerable people in urgent need of assistance have not received life-saving support and face continued life-threatening hardship due to persistent funding gaps.
Further information
Full text: WFP in Afghanistan forced to drop 10 million people from lifesaving assistance, deepening despair and worry for Afghans, WFP, press release, September 5, 2023
https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-afghanistan-forced-drop-10-million-people-lifesaving-assistance-deepening-despair-and