The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a large-scale emergency response in Afghanistan to support communities affected by the conflict with Pakistan, while also adapting its operations to continue delivering life-saving aid despite violence and major shipping disruptions. The agency has already started mobilizing assistance rapidly as the humanitarian situation worsens across the region.
WFP is currently providing immediate food assistance to more than 20,000 families displaced by the conflict. As an initial emergency measure, affected families are receiving fortified biscuits to meet urgent food needs. The most vulnerable households will then receive two months of food or cash assistance, while children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women will also receive specialized nutritional products to help address critical malnutrition risks.
Although security conditions remain dangerous, WFP has resumed operations in most border areas and is scaling up assistance across eight provinces. The response is beginning in eastern provinces such as Nuristan, Kunar, and Nangarhar, and extending southward through Paktya, Khost, and Paktika, before continuing into Zabul and Kandahar along Afghanistan’s southern border. This broad geographic coverage reflects the expanding humanitarian impact of the conflict.
WFP has warned that the situation is worsening for families already facing repeated crises. According to the agency, many households had already been struggling with hunger due to previous shocks such as job losses and earthquakes, and are now being pushed further into crisis as conflict spreads. The added instability is expected to deepen food insecurity and place even greater pressure on an already fragile region.
The agency’s response is also being complicated by severe supply chain disruptions. The closure of the Afghanistan–Pakistan border since last October, combined with the wider conflict in the Middle East, has made it harder for WFP to move aid into the country. In response, the organization is working to activate the Lapis Lazuli Corridor as an alternative route linking Afghanistan through Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. While this route offers a crucial backup, it is slower and significantly more expensive.
Further pressure is coming from Iran’s recent ban on food and agricultural exports, which is already contributing to rising prices in Afghanistan. If the ban continues, it is likely to cause shortages of essential goods, beginning in border areas and eventually spreading nationwide as supplies decline. With trade routes disrupted from both Pakistan and Iran, Afghan markets are facing increasing strain, raising the risk that staple foods will become less available and less affordable for millions of people.
As 2026 continues, Afghanistan is facing three overlapping crises: escalating hostilities along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, the spillover impact of conflict in Iran, and a severe hunger and malnutrition emergency. An estimated 17.4 million people—around one in three Afghans—now need urgent food assistance, while 3.7 million children are expected to require treatment for malnutrition this year. WFP has warned that without urgent support, the combination of conflict, supply disruptions, and deepening hunger could push millions further into crisis.
