Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan: 2022 End-Year Monitoring Report of Financing, Achievements and Response Challenges

Between January and December 2022, humanitarian partners have reached 26.1 million people with at least one form of assistance which includes 22.3 million people with food and livelihoods support; 13.3 million people with access to health care (consultations and treatment); 11 million people with water, sanitation and hygiene assistance; 6.2 million children and pregnant and lactating women with support to prevent and address acute malnutrition; 5.7 million people with protection assistance; 2 million people with emergency shelter and household items; and 554,400 children with access to education and education materials. Despite the overall reach exceeding the target by 2.2 million people (the original HRP target is 24.4 million), this was done in part by reducing levels of assistance to the less vulnerable, seasonal, and geographic prioritization and use of lower cost/intensity interventions.

The response was enabled by a combination of new funding in 2022 ($3.2 billion) and funds carried over from 2021 ($542 million). Despite the historic scale of response so far in 2022 (including in previously inaccessible areas), underfunding has meant that people’s needs were not reduced, and they have not been able to start the path towards stability and independence. In fact, there are more people today in Afghanistan who rely on humanitarian assistance as the only source of survival.

The outlook remains grim with climate forecasts indicating an imminent triple dip La Niña phenomenon to extend the dry-spell / drought-like conditions for the third year in a row. This is on the backdrop of surging urban debt, financial constraints, and rural inability to access services, with a notable reduction in access to water. Meanwhile, external factors (e.g., war in Ukraine and floods in Pakistan) are driving commodity prices even higher. Millions of people who received one form of assistance will continue to require multiple rounds of support over the course of the year to survive. This often includes more tailored packages designed specifically to meet individual and/or household needs in a more comprehensive manner.

Partners will make concerted efforts to provide more integrated support in underserved areas, in line with the nature and scale of multi-sectoral needs now present while considering seasonal risks. The humanitarian community’s ability to continue to stay and deliver life-saving assistance will be contingent on flexible funds, enabling financial systems and assurances of aid worker safety and principled humanitarian response. This includes ensuring that women can participate in society both as people in need of assistance and as humanitarian staff to enable humanitarians to reach 50 per cent of the population.

This end-of-year report captures progress against the needs and targets identified in the 2022 Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plans.