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UN humanitarian agencies call for immediate response to Afghan crisis
UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs in Afghanistan are in a race against time to deliver lifesaving aid to crisis-affected people and have called on donors to urgently turn pledges into reality.
According to a press release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) millions of people in Afghanistan have been deeply affected by decades of conflict and displacement, chronic poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic, a severe drought, a failing health system, and an economy on the brink of collapse.
“Existing needs and vulnerabilities have also deepened following recent events, and economic shocks are tipping more people in Afghanistan into crisis,” the organization said.
Without urgent action, the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate into next year and the Afghan authorities, UN member states, donors, humanitarian organizations, and other stakeholders “must mobilize immediately to prevent a further humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan,” the statement read.
Last month, the donor community launched the Afghanistan Flash Appeal, calling for US$606 million to provide priority life-saving aid to 10.8 million vulnerable Afghans by the end of the year. However, to date, only 35% of this is funded, the UN said.
According to the statement, “pledges and commitments by donors must urgently be turned into reality to ensure humanitarian organizations can respond before it is too late”.
The UN also called on the new government to allow the swift and unhindered movement of humanitarian supplies and personnel into and out of Afghanistan, and to provide humanitarian financial exemptions to allow funds to reach aid organizations in the country.
Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, said: “The people of Afghanistan must not pay the price of collective failures. They deserve a normal life in peace and dignity.”
Mary-Ellen McGroarty, Representative and Country Director of WFP Afghanistan, said: “Afghanistan is on borrowed time. In my long career with WFP I’ve never before seen a crisis unfold at this pace and scale. We are witnessing a new depth of destitution as the drought and the economic crisis drives up food and fuel prices. Getting food to families across Afghanistan before the cold and harsh winter is what we must do now!”
Marin Din Kajdomcaj, UNHCR Deputy Representative in Afghanistan, said: “If the commitments made by the international community are not delivered on now, millions of displaced Afghans will struggle to survive over the coming winter. A lack of immediate action will inevitably lead to a deeper humanitarian crisis and further displacement that will have not only regional, but global implications.”
Abdallah Al Dardari, UNDP Resident Representative for Afghanistan, said: “In addition to immediate assistance to save lives, the international community must act to save livelihoods and local economy, enhance resilience of communities, and prevent a total economic and social breakdown in the country.”
At the beginning of this year, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was already one of the worst in the world, with nearly half of the population – some 18.4 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance.
Conflict and insecurity have displaced nearly 700,000 people within the county this year, with more than 3.5 million Afghans uprooted by conflict in total.
The U.S. Department of State says Afghanistan’s ministries and other public-sector institutions failed to meet any of the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the review period.
In its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, released Tuesday, the State Department said no Afghan entity had published an executive budget proposal or an end-of-year report within a reasonable timeframe.
The report said that in the absence of a publicly available budget, there was no confirmation of government expenditures made to support public services. It also said Afghan institutions had not published timely information on public-sector debt obligations.
According to the report, publicly available revenue and expenditure figures did not correspond to actual revenues and expenditures, based on information gathered through contacts and the government’s inability to service public-sector debts.
However, some state-owned enterprises independently published information on their revenues and expenditures.
The State Department also said an entity calling itself the Supreme Audit Office, which announced that it would begin operating in 2022, had not clarified the legal basis for its activities and did not publish any audits or audit findings during the review period.
The report further noted that the IEA did not make public the budgets of their “military” and intelligence services.
The U.S. State Department recommended that Afghan ministries and public institutions improve fiscal transparency by publishing reliable budget documents on time, following internationally accepted budgeting principles, strengthening oversight of off-budget accounts, and making information on public-sector debt publicly available.
It also called for clearer laws governing natural-resource extraction and public procurement, as well as ensuring that any supreme audit institution operates independently and meets international standards.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghanistan’s budget does not belong to any other country, and therefore there is no obligation to provide information to others about how it is spent.
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FAO warns water shortages and heat put Afghanistan’s agriculture under pressure
FAO assessed current conditions and prospects using climate forecasts, remote-sensing data and consultations with farming communities across all 34 provinces.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned that water shortages and above-average temperatures are placing increasing pressure on summer crops and grazing across Afghanistan.
In its August 2026 outlook for Afghanistan’s 2026/27 agricultural season, FAO assessed current conditions and prospects using climate forecasts, remote-sensing data and consultations with farming communities across all 34 provinces.
The agency said persistent water shortages, combined with high temperatures, are affecting agricultural conditions during the summer season and increasing pressure on crops and livestock.
FAO also warned that persistently high fertilizer prices could limit farmers’ ability to invest in the upcoming winter wheat season, potentially affecting production prospects.
Looking ahead, the report says a strengthening El Niño and the possible development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole could bring above-average precipitation during winter and spring.
Such conditions could improve water availability and boost prospects for agricultural production, but FAO cautioned that heavier rainfall could also increase the risk of floods, landslides, crop damage and livestock losses.
The agency said the latest outlook highlights the need for continued monitoring, anticipatory action and timely, practical climate and agricultural advisories to help farmers and livestock owners prepare for changing conditions.
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Hana raises concerns over Afghan women and children amid Iran’s expulsion policy
It said the risks are particularly serious for children born in Iran or those who have spent much of their lives there.
The Hana Human Rights Organization has raised serious concerns over the situation of Afghan women and children in Iran, saying the country’s plan to regulate and expel undocumented Afghan nationals remains in effect.
According to Hana, Iran’s Ministry of Interior has confirmed that the “Plan for the Regulation and Expulsion of Unauthorized Afghan Nationals” has not been suspended.
The organization said the policy is continuing amid the consequences of armed conflict and an increasingly securitized environment in Iran, which it said has heightened the vulnerability of Afghan migrants and asylum seekers.
Hana said it has previously documented cases involving the arrest and mistreatment of Afghan nationals, deportations, family separation and difficulties obtaining civil documentation and accessing essential services.
The organization warned that continued implementation of the expulsion policy could worsen these problems.
Hana expressed particular concern for Afghan children under 18, stressing that children’s rights are independent of their parents’ migration status.
It said irregular residence should not, by itself, justify a child’s detention, separation from family or removal without an individualized assessment. Any decision affecting a child, it added, should prioritize the child’s best interests, preserve family unity and provide additional safeguards for unaccompanied and separated children.
The organization warned that large-scale expulsions without clear procedures to identify and protect children at risk could result in family separation, disruption to education, lack of legal protection, difficulties establishing legal identity, exploitation and return to unsafe conditions.
It said the risks are particularly serious for children born in Iran or those who have spent much of their lives there.
Hana also highlighted gender-specific risks facing Afghan women and girls. It warned that deportation to Afghanistan without assessing risks linked to gender, previous political or social activities, family circumstances and access to support networks could expose them to serious human rights violations.
The organization said being classified as an “unauthorized foreign national” should not replace an individual assessment of a person’s protection needs and the risks they may face upon return.
Hana stressed that while states have the authority to regulate the entry and residence of foreign nationals, migration enforcement must comply with international human rights principles, including non-refoulement, the prohibition of collective expulsion, access to individualized procedures and respect for family unity.
It called for heightened protection for women and children, warning that continuing the expulsion plan without effective legal and protection safeguards could lead to further human rights violations against Afghan migrants and asylum seekers in Iran.
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