"With a large part of the Afghan people in dire need, humanitarian assistance is critical for preserving lives. The unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan necessitates an urgent response. The international community, including major donors, should recognize the imperative for post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan," emphasized Dmitriy A. Zhirnov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Afghanistan.
Currently, 16 million people - one third of the Afghan population - are going hungry. Due to limited income opportunities, many families are struggling to provide for their children, making WFP's food assistance a lifeline for their survival.
"Record levels of food assistance thanks to our generous donors have paid off and helped avert a large-scale humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan," said Hsiao-Wei Lee, Country Director of WFP in Afghanistan. "Thanks to this assistance and a better harvest, we now see slight improvements, but they remain fragile and could deteriorate quickly and reverse. WFP needs to continue humanitarian food assistance across Afghanistan and in parallel we need to be able to make investments into the productivity and resilience of communities, so that they can break the cycle of dependency."
Last year, a funding crisis forced WFP to drop 10 million hungry people from lifesaving food assistance and halve food rations for many to the bare minimum. This had a brutal impact on many of the most vulnerable families and admissions of severely malnourished children to clinics and health centres doubled in some of the districts cut from assistance.
In 2023, WFP reached a total of 18.6 million people through all of its programmes, 80 percent of whom were women and children. WFP distributed 600,000 metric tons of food and disbursed US$190 million in cash or vouchers to help families meet their food needs.
The recent contribution from Russia adds crucial support to WFP's emergency programme in Afghanistan, building on the previous funds provided. This brings Russia's total contribution to US$4 million over three years, reinforcing the ongoing partnership in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
