Afghanistan: One year of neglect causes humanitarian needs to soar by a third, IRC warns the current crisis could kill more Afghans than 20 years of war


IRC Global Communications
communications@rescue.org

Kabul, Afghanistan, August 14, 2022 — One year on since the shift in power in Afghanistan, economic collapse has sent the population spiraling towards a hunger crisis rooted in policies that have brutally punished everyday citizens. IRC warns that if Afghanistan continues on this trajectory, the current crisis could kill far more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.

For two decades, Afghanistan has heavily relied on foreign aid, much of which has been suspended or frozen over the last year - significantly impacting the welfare of Afghans across the country. The reduction in development aid, combined with the freezing of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves and the grounding of the banking sector have produced a perfect storm of economic collapse. At the same time, restrictions on women’s access to work have contributed to Afghanistan’s failing economy, producing an economic loss of up to $1bn - about 5% of Afghanistan’s GDP.

The impact for Afghans has been devastating, bringing skyrocketing levels of unemployment, rising hunger, and the disintegration of civil society. Worryingly, a recent IRC report found that 77% of women-led civil society organizations have lost their funding over the last twelve months with most having closed down activities. These local organizations are critical to delivering services to the most vulnerable communities, especially women and children living in rural areas.

Vicki Aken, IRC Afghanistan Director, said,

“One year since the shift in power, Afghan civilians are bearing the brunt of a decimated economy and spiraling humanitarian crisis. Since 15th August of last year, the critical non-emergency donor funding that sustained basic services in Afghanistan has been largely suspended. Twelve months of sweeping economic disaster has seen the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance jump by one third since the start of 2021. Today a staggering 55% of Afghanistan’s population rely on humanitarian aid.

“People are unemployed and the nation is hungry; one farmer who receives support through the IRC’s cash for work programme in Nangarhar province has more than doubled his yield of okra and rice over the last six months, yet he must sell almost all of it just to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the worsening economic crisis coupled with restrictions that limit women’s access to work,

“As global leaders sought to economically isolate the Taliban, their policy approaches have crippled the economy, destroyed the banking sector and plunged the country into a humanitarian catastrophe that has left more than 24 million without enough food to eat each day. And when a family goes hungry in Afghanistan, women are the last to eat.

“The humanitarian response in Afghanistan is drastically under-funded, standing at 44% of the required amount to reach those in need. Humanitarian donor pledges must be translated to funding for the frontline response - but humanitarian aid cannot be a replacement for a functioning economy and state. Afghan families continue to pay the price for political impasse, and leaders must do more to urgently scale up the humanitarian response while also ensuring Afghans can access livelihoods and basic services, such as healthcare. Afghans need more than a humanitarian lifeline, they need a functioning economy. We urge international institutions to provide technical support to the banking sector to help it get back on its feet.

“The Afghan people cannot be made to pay for the actions of the de facto authorities. Without meaningful support, Afghanistan will continue on this trajectory - and the current crisis will kill far more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.”

In the last twelve months, the IRC has doubled-down on its commitments to the Afghan people. Our teams are now operating across 12 provinces and provide vital health services, education and support for women and girls in communities where we have developed deep relationships with community leaders. At the same time, our teams have tirelessly advocated for the inclusion of women in the humanitarian response and the IRC has maintained a staff body comprising 40% Afghan women.

As the security situation improved, our teams were able to reach remote districts of the country that had been unreachable to humanitarian actors for decades. In Helmand, for example, the IRC is able to deliver essential healthcare, community-based education programmes and cash for work to areas previously cut off by fighting. Meanwhile, improved access meant that the IRC could deliver emergency healthcare assistance to some of the most isolated villages in Afghanistan affected by the earthquake in rural Paktika and Khost.

For case studies, photography and video footage of the IRC’s programmes in Khost, Logar, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces, please click here.

The IRC began work in Afghanistan in 1988, and now works with thousands of villages across twelve provinces, with Afghans making up more than 99% of IRC staff in the country. As Afghanistan struggles to recover from ongoing conflict and natural disasters, the IRC: works with local communities to identify, plan and manage their own development projects, provides safe learning spaces in rural areas, community-based education, cash distribution provides uprooted families with tents, clean water, sanitation and other basic necessities, and helps people find livelihood opportunities as well as extensive resilience programming.
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The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC works in more than 40 countries and in 28 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.