Afghanistan

Overview

The security situation in Afghanistan remains volatile as fighting between government and non-state armed groups, particularly the Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan, intensified in 2019 amid ongoing peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban. Decades of conflict have had a severe impact on infrastructure, resilience, and population movement; in the first four months of 2019, more than 80,000 people were internally displaced by conflict.? A severe drought in 2018 has triggered additional internal displacement, decreased livelihood opportunities, and driven food insecurity that impacts more than 35% of the population, who largely rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.? 11.3 million people are currently estimated to face Crisis and Emergency (IPC 3 and 4) levels of food insecurity.? An increasing number of returnee-IDPs, primarily from Iran, put additional pressure on host community resources and international assistance.?

Latest Developments

Severe weather continues to impact humanitarian conditions in southern and western Afghanistan. Heavy snowfall and rains have resulted in road closures, disruptions in communications and electricity, and collapsed houses. Humanitarian assistance is severely restricted, particularly in Badghis province. In Hirat and Ghor provinces, thousands are in need of additional winterisation support, including more than 68,000 IDPs. Since the beginning of January, extreme cold tempeatures and winter weather has caused 24 fatalities across the country. ?