UN Warns Severe Funding Shortfall Threatens Life-Saving Aid for Millions in Afghanistan

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that a severe funding shortfall is threatening life-saving humanitarian assistance for millions of people in Afghanistan. As of the end of May 2026, the country’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) had received just US$269 million against a requirement of $1.71 billion, leaving a gap of $1.44 billion, according to an OCHA humanitarian update (unocha.org).

This level of funding represented a decrease of $110 million compared with the same period in 2025, despite ongoing high needs. OCHA Afghanistan stated that without immediate support, millions risk being left without assistance (kabulnow.com). Later figures showed funding reaching approximately $438 million, or about 25.6 percent of requirements (humanitarianaction.info).

Around 21.9 million people—approximately 45 percent of Afghanistan’s population—are projected to require humanitarian assistance in 2026, with 17.5 million targeted for support under the plan, the majority of them women and children (news.un.org; unocha.org). The $1.71 billion appeal is 29 percent lower than the previous year’s requirements, reflecting sharper prioritization and efficiency measures while aiming to reach slightly more people (news.un.org).

In a June 2026 briefing to the UN Security Council, Edem Wosornu, director of OCHA’s Crisis Response Division, reported that the response plan had received only about 15 percent of its target at that time and that the reach of assistance had diminished by 40 percent compared with the prior year, with 3 million fewer people receiving help (arabnews.com; news.un.org). She noted that hunger is growing, with 4.7 million people facing severe food insecurity—50 percent more than the same period the previous year—and an estimated 3.7 million children suffering from acute malnutrition (news.un.org).

The World Food Programme has warned that famine-prevention activities for approximately 1.5 million people in high-risk areas could be cut without more funding (arabnews.com). In July 2026, OCHA highlighted risks to nutrition programs for 5.7 million children and mothers during the peak malnutrition season (kabulnow.com).

Humanitarian partners reached 4.7 million people with at least one form of assistance between January and March 2026, including food support for around three million and US$20.3 million in cash and voucher assistance for 2.3 million people across 33 provinces (unocha.org). However, the funding gap is already forcing organizations to reduce programmes, scale back services, and make difficult prioritization decisions.

Compounding factors include large-scale returns of Afghans from neighboring countries—nearly 5.9 million since 2023, with hundreds of thousands more in 2026—climate-related shocks such as drought and flooding, residual effects of earthquakes, and restrictions affecting women and girls’ access to services and aid delivery (news.un.org; unocha.org). OCHA has called for urgent, flexible, and predictable donor contributions to sustain life-saving support and prevent further erosion of gains in health, nutrition, and emergency response.