The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said Tuesday it is forced to cut back on services in Afghanistan due to the cuts in aid by Donald Trump, the president of the United States.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Suze van Meegen, N RC’s interim country director in Afghanistan said: “At a time when men, women and children in Afghanistan urgently need international funding and support, NRC and our partners are facing drastic funding cuts from key donors.

“This situation leaves us with no choice but to make untenable reductions in our services, further jeopardising vital lifelines for the most vulnerable and impoverished communities.”

She said like many humanitarian organisations, NRC Afghanistan has been forced to close offices in several provinces and lay off many dedicated and professional humanitarian staff, with a particularly adverse impact on female aid workers.

“These funding cuts have far-reaching consequences. They extend from communities that have lost access to basic assistance to thousands of experienced Afghan staff that have lost their livelihoods,” van Meegen said.

The NRC warned that wide-ranging cuts in aid will lead to a diminishing footprint of humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan and leave the lives of millions on an increasingly dangerous trajectory, affecting women and children most adversely

In January, Trump suspended ongoing aid projects which forced the majority of US-funded humanitarian work to be put on hold or end. Other donor governments – including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – have since also announced that their global aid budgets will be reduced in the coming years, foreshadowing a significant drop in the assistance available to the world’s most vulnerable.

“This is the most challenging situation that NRC Afghanistan has faced in its 22 years in the country. However, I want to emphasise that NRC Afghanistan is not shutting down its operations. We remain committed to staying in Afghanistan to support displaced women, men and children and to ensure that communities affected by decades of war are not left behind,” said van Meegen.

The NRC said that since January, it has been forced to close two of its community resource centres, with two more at risk without suitable funding in the coming month. 

The centres have been crucial in supporting returning and internally displaced Afghans, providing assistance with housing, food, legal assistance and referrals to healthcare providers, particularly for Afghan women who are heading their families and depend on female-to-female aid.

The loss of female aid workers across the country is further restricting women and children’s access to essential services, reinforcing the conditions that prevent them from enjoying their basic rights, the NRC said.

Van Meegen said: “To prevent catastrophic damage in Afghanistan, the international community needs to step up and commit to supporting a population that has faced decades of war and neglect.”

The NRC has been present in Afghanistan since 2003, delivering key services with the support of its donors, directly delivering assistance to people in need.

This includes providing shelter and protection services to displaced Afghans and those returning from neighbouring countries.

According to the UN’s latest findings, almost 22.3 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance and 1 in 3 Afghans (more than 14 million people) do not know where their next meal will come from.

In 2024, the United States contributed just under $742 million to Afghanistan’s $1.72 billion Humanitarian Response Plan – this equalled 43.4%.

The 2025 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan is currently just 13.3%, according to UNOCHA.