Afghanistan is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis as insecurity escalates along its borders. Fighting has intensified on the eastern and southern frontier with Pakistan, while violence continues on the western border with Iran, putting immense pressure on communities already weakened by years of conflict, natural disasters, and chronic poverty. The renewed violence has displaced approximately 20,000 families across eastern, southeastern, and southern regions, affecting more than 46 districts in provinces including Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, Paktika, Paktya, Khost, Kandahar, Helmand, and Zabul.
The ongoing conflict has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to temporarily suspend emergency, social protection, school feeding, and livelihood programs, directly impacting around 160,000 people. Many of the affected districts were already experiencing severe food insecurity, with more than half of the population at emergency hunger levels and several provinces facing critical levels of acute malnutrition. Communities hit by the August 2025 earthquake in Kunar and Nangarhar—already among the most vulnerable—are now once again at the frontlines of conflict.
Violence on Afghanistan’s western border with Iran is also raising fears of a new surge of returnees. Returnees face poverty, unemployment, hunger, and instability, often lacking housing and access to livelihoods. Stories like that of Saeed Azeez, a returnee struggling to provide for his family, highlight the severe human impact. In 2025, WFP supported over half a million returnees with cash, fortified biscuits, and nutritious food for women and children, while Afghanistan saw a total influx of more than 2.5 million returnees from Iran and Pakistan. The renewed fighting threatens to increase these numbers, placing unsustainable pressure on an already underfunded humanitarian response.
Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most severe hunger crises, with one in three Afghans—17.4 million people—urgently needing food assistance. Child malnutrition is critical, with 3.7 million children projected to require treatment in 2026. WFP warns that without immediate funding, families fleeing cross-border conflict and those internally displaced will not be reached.
The winter response this year could only cover a fraction of those in need, and by April 2026, WFP funding for emergency operations is projected to run out. The organization has a funding requirement of US$313 million for the next six months and urges the international community to fulfill commitments to prevent millions from losing critical food and support in Afghanistan’s hour of greatest need.
