Afghanistan: Humanitarian Access Snapshot (February 2023)

Key Highlights

Access impediments continue to challenge the humanitarian response in Afghanistan, where two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population (28.3 million people) need life-saving assistance in 2023. In February alone, 101[1] access incidents have impeded humanitarian operations, resulting in temporary suspension of 37 Programs, that were mostly (90 per cent) authored by the de-facto Authorities (DfAs) and Armed Forces (DfAF). The incidents in February show a decline of 28 per cent from previous month and 14 per cent from same time last year, and this may be attributed to the reduction of humanitarian operation i.e. suspension of operation due to the barring of women humanitarian workers.

Majority (67 percent) of the access incidents reported in February 2023 are emanating from ‘interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities’ by the Df Authorities and Armed Forces. This is a trend that shows a 29 per cent increase from the same time last year, indicating the growing concern and challenges of the humanitarian community to ensuring principled humanitarian action, as they relate to authorities interference with programming. – They include exclusion of women humanitarian staff from the response, following the decree by the DfAs barring women humanitarian workers; interference or attempted interference into beneficiary selection; interference with staff recruitment; and aid diversion, resulting in the temporary suspension of 28 programs.

The barring of women humanitarian staff continues to pose challenges to reach women and children beneficiaries, more specifically through humanitarian service delivery such as protection, and monitoring activities, while distribution of cash and in-kind assistance partially continue. Despite the two national-level exemptions (health and education) issued, the participation of women humanitarian staff in the humanitarian operation has been partial with conditionalities at the sub-national level. The implementation of these exemptions is limited because it i restricting their movement to only health and education facilities and not the office; restricting their involvement on the mobile, health and nutrition teams (MHNTs); tailoring the exemption to only health workers and women teachers up to grade six, and not program offices who are essential to the delivery of the assistance; and requiring a strict adherence to mahram and dress code, and segregation of work stations for women and men staff and beneficiaries.

Humanitarian operation was also suspended in Ghor and Daikundi provinces due to interferences of DfAs in the response delivery]. They interferences include aid diversion and attempts to influence beneficiary selection, although the resumption is progressively ongoing per the criteria agreed with partners and the DfAs. These challenges have markedly spiked following the launching and interpretation of DfA’s procedures for coordination of humanitarian operations that regulates the work of humanitarian organization since October 2022.

The humanitarian response in February was also impacted by violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities, showing a 15 per cent increase from previous month, that resulted in the arrests and detention of 9 staff, 4 physical attacks or violence against humanitarian workers that injured 2 staff, 3 threats against humanitarian workers, assets and facilities, and robbery of 1 facility. These incidents have continued to impact the operational environment, where the safety and security of humanitarian staff is at risk.

The deterioration of security environment is also impacting the safety of humanitarian workers and civilians. For example, in Central Highlands region, a grenade explosion at a food distribution site has severely injured a child, leading to the halting of distribution. Furthermore, several civilian casualties were reported with explosives in Ghor, Hilmand, Kabul, and Kunduz provinces.

In February, ‘physical environment relating to weather hazard’ and ‘restrictions on movement of agencies, personnel, or goods within the affected country’ have also posed an access constraint to the humanitarian response delivery, with 7 and 5 incidents reported respectively. Heavy rain, floods and avalanches, in addition to challenges at checkpoints have temporary halted movements. Furthermore, humanitarian staff movement was suspended due to localized community dispute.

OCHA, in collaboration with humanitarian partners and through the Humanitarian Access Group, Regional Humanitarian Teams (RHTs) and support of access working groups (AWGs), will continue to engage with the DfAs to address access challenges and advocate on the importance of women’s participation in the humanitarian action. This is done through the ongoing provincial and district level humanitarian sensitization and other bilateral engagements at the provincial and national level, stressing on the devastating consequences of their exclusion to the vulnerable population of Afghanistan.