Highlights
- Since 15 September 2023, over 758,000 Afghan returnees from Pakistan have been registered. UNICEF continues to support the response at the Torkham and Spin Boldak border points with health, polio, WASH, nutrition, child protection and social behaviour change interventions.
- In November, over 460,000 children were screened for wasting, out of which, 44,545 (58 percent girls) were admitted for outpatient treatment, while 3,729 children with severe wasting and medical complications were referred for inpatient care.
- In November, 320,702 children and caregivers (49% girls and women) including 2,987 children with disability accessed prevention, risk mitigation and response child protection services.
- UNICEF supported 54,945 people with access to safe drinking water across thirteen provinces through the construction of 21 solar-powered water supply systems and the rehabilitation of four water supply systems that were damaged due to flash flooding. and drought.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
A shrinking protection space, a fragile economy, insufficient access to basic services, natural hazards and climate-induced shocks, as well as regional political dynamics continue to negatively impact the ability of Afghans to recover from 40 years of conflict. The humanitarian outlook remains precarious, as the drivers of need in Afghanistan shift from conflict to economic hardship, climate-induced shocks and significant operating barriers. More than half the population is in need of humanitarian support, which makes Afghanistan the second-largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
Food security continues to improve marginally, however 14.8 million people (32 per cent of the population) are projected to be food insecure (IPC Phase 3/Crisis or above) during the winter months, and are in urgent need of humanitarian food assistance from November 2024 to March 2025. The risk of food insecurity is likely to increase as borderline La Niña conditions have been projected for the period December 2024 – February 2025. Cumulative precipitation will most likely be below-average for the 2024/25 winter wet season and the same is expected to continue until the end of the 2025 spring season. Consequently, below-average snowpack development, snow depths, and snow water volumes (SWV) may be seen throughout the 2024/25 precipitation season.
Since 15 September 2023, 758,000 Afghan returnees from Pakistan have been registered, with numbers increasing from fewer than 200 people per day in early October 2023 to more than 17,000 people per day by early November 2023. Although the monthly number of returnees crossing into Afghanistan has since stabilized, the ongoing threat of Afghan deportations from Pakistan persists.
In the month of November, Afghanistan experienced significant natural disasters, particularly due to heavy rainfall and subsequent flash floods. On November 23, heavy rainfall led to flash floods that severely impacted several districts in Kunduz, Baghlan, and Balkh provinces, resulting in the deaths of two children aged 10 months and one year. In terms of damages to infrastructure, approximately 460 houses, including mosques and madrasas, were destroyed. Approximately 30 drinking water wells were destroyed, increasing the risk of potential outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
Since the beginning of 2024, 167,594 acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) with dehydration cases and 85 associated deaths (CFR=0.05%) were reported from 351 districts. Out of the total cases, 92,996 (55.5%) were under-five children, and 82,940 (49.5%) were females. 9,574 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) have been conducted on AWD with dehydration cases, of which 1,399 tests turned positive (positivity rate 14.6%).