Afghanistan: Humanitarian Update, May 2025

HIGHLIGHTS

Growing shutdown of life-saving services amid deepening funding crisis in Afghanistan
Pg. 01

Afghanistan’s climate crisis: drought and dry spell push millions toward hunger
Pg. 02

The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund's ongoing response to the humanitarian crisis in 2024
Pg. 03

GROWING SHUTDOWN OF LIFE-SAVING SERVICES AMID DEEPENING FUNDING CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN

Almost halfway through 2025, the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) is only 17 per cent funded — a drastic shortfall with significant impact on humanitarian operations across every sector in Afghanistan. Millions of people, particularly vulnerable communities, including women, children, displaced people, returnees and minority groups are facing growing hardship as life-saving assistance, such as food distributions or essential health services, is scaled back or shut down.

The suspension of US funding for humanitarian and development assistance earlier this year culminating in the 4 April decision to halt all remaining support meant the loss of a major donor that previously accounted for nearly half of all humanitarian funding in Afghanistan. With other traditional donors scaling back as well, the catalysing effects were soon felt significantly by UN and NGO partners and the people they serve as the funding cuts inevitably lead to a reduction in much-needed goods and services.

In the health sector alone, the number of closed facilities has surged from 188 in February to over 420 by May, leaving nearly three million people without access to basic healthcare. But health is not the only affected sector— similar patterns are emerging across all areas of the humanitarian response.

Nutrition services have suffered parallel setbacks. Nearly 300 treatment centres have shut down, denying essential care to around 80,000 malnourished children and mothers. These closures have also had a devastating impact on female health workers, thousands of whom have lost their jobs.

Over 200 protection service points supporting survivors of gender-based violence are no longer operational leaving nearly one million women and girls without access to critical referral services. In addition, support for more than 3.3 million vulnerable individuals, including children and persons with disabilities, has ceased altogether, creating dangerous gaps in the safety net for those most at risk.

With many water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and shelter activities also grounded to a halt, displaced families in particular are now forced to cope without clean water or adequate housing, compounding already precarious living conditions. Considering all country-wide reductions in aid, perhaps most concerning is the sharp drop in emergency food assistance