EMERGENCY: Conflict & Hunger in Afghanistan
Hunger in Afghanistan is rising sharply, driven by the economic crisis, conflict and drought.
Across Afghanistan, families have been forced from their homes due to conflict and now fear for their future. The current chaos will only worsen food insecurity in a country where more than one in two Afghans is already hungry.
Afghans are facing crisis levels of hunger
Afghans are on the brink of starvation
Afghans are already facing famine
Q&A with Afghanistan Country Director
WFP is committed to staying the course in Afghanistan as long as it is possible to deliver assistance to the Afghan people while ensuring the safety of our staff.
WFP has been in Afghanistan for more than 60 years and despite security and logistics challenges, is on the ground working with partners to get food to those most in need.
How We Help Afghans Survive Hunger
WFP has been working in Afghanistan since 1963 – with a special focus on women and girls – helping vulnerable families, schoolchildren, returning refugees, internally displaced people and disabled people. With your help, we provide:
Food & Cash
In March 2022, WFP reached 8 million people through emergency food and nutrition assistance. As the economic crisis worsens, WFP is adapting and expanding cash-based aid to help sustain the local economy.
School Meals
WFP’s school meals serve as a lifeline for the children of Afghanistan. Through daily meals and take-home rations, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren receive the nutrition they need to thrive in the classroom.
Nutrition Support
WFP provides nutrition support to children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. With UNICEF and WHO, WFP provides treatment and prevention programs for the lifelong effects of malnutrition.
Food Access
WFP works with partners to provide Afghan people with access to nutritious food at affordable prices by supporting small-scale farmers and supply chains, and strengthening food safety measures.
A Dangerous Uphill Battle
Conflict
For decades, Afghans have lived through foreign intervention, civil war, insurgency and widespread insecurity. This has destroyed the country’s economic growth, limiting opportunities and making poverty worse. The recent escalation of conflict has thrown the lives of Afghan families into turmoil and uncertainty.
Photo: WFP/Arete/Andrew Quilty
Hunger
Over half of Afghanistan's population is food insecure, and that insecurity is rising sharply. Undernutrition is a big concern for women, children, displaced people, returnees, households headed by women, people with disabilities and the poor.
Photo: WFP/Arete/Andrew Quilty
Coronavirus
Millions face acute food insecurity in the face of COVID-19. The pandemic is particularly hard on the more than one in four Afghans who rely on day labor and low-income jobs to live. Lockdowns and other measures to stop the spread of the virus threaten to push vulnerable communities deeper into despair.
Photo: WFP/Massoud Hossaini
Drought
A massive drought in 2018 – the worst in a decade – wreaked havoc on most of the country. It displaced thousands, kept farmers from growing crops and forced people to sell precious animals.
Photo: WFP/Arete/Andrew Quilty
The Larger Climate
Every year, some 250,000 people on average are affected by a wide range of environmental disasters including floods, droughts, avalanches, landslides and earthquakes. Weather events become more and more unpredictable - and severe - each year.
Photo: WFP/Arete/Andrew Quilty
Nearly 20 million Afghans are still hungry. You can help save lives in Afghanistan and other countries by donating to send emergency food supplies today.