UNIS Geneva briefing on the latest food security situation in Afghanistan

Anthea Webb, Deputy Regional Director for Asia at the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking from Bangkok, and Richard Trenchard, Representative in Afghanistan for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), speaking from Kabul, briefed Geneva press corps on the latest food security situation in Afghanistan.

Anthea Webb, Deputy Regional Director for Asia at the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking from Bangkok, and Richard Trenchard, Representative in Afghanistan for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), speaking from Kabul, briefed on the latest food security situation in Afghanistan.

Ms Webb said that almost half of Afghanistan’s population – 19.7 million people – are facing acute hunger according to the latest food security analysis: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). However, this figure is expected to go down to 18.9 million in June to November, due in part to both the wheat harvest season from May to August and a well-coordinated scale-up in humanitarian food assistance along with increased agricultural livelihood support, facilitated by generous donor support.

The country’s ongoing drought combined with its economic crisis, however, suggest the unprecedented hunger people are suffering will continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across Afghanistan.

For the first time since the introduction of the IPC in Afghanistan in 2011 - a small pocket of “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity - or IPC Phase 5 - has been detected in the country. More than 20,000 people in the north-eastern province of Ghor are facing catastrophic levels of hunger because of a long period of harsh winter and disastrous agricultural conditions.

She said that humanitarian assistance had averted a catastrophe in the harsh winter months – but hunger continued across the country at unprecedented levels.

Food assistance and emergency livelihood support are the lifeline for the people of Afghanistan. WFP has mounted the world’s largest humanitarian food operation in a matter of months, reaching more than 16 million people so far in 2022.

The upcoming harvest will bring some relief to millions of families struggling with income losses and food shortages. However, for many, the harvest will only offer short-term relief and very little opportunity for recovery. The war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on Afghanistan’s wheat supply, food commodities, and fuel prices.

She concluded by saying that WFP requires US$1.4 billion in 2022 to continue emergency, nutrition, and resilience response.

For his part, Richard Trenchard, Representative in Afghanistan for the Food and Agriculture Organization, added that the latest assessment indicated that catastrophe has been largely averted in recent months. This is due to both the incredible resilience of Afghanistan’s farmers and livestock herders and unprecedented levels of humanitarian assistance, particularly food assistance. But the crisis continues.

High acute food insecurity persisted across Afghanistan, as a combination of economic crisis, continuing drought and rising debts was depriving nearly 20 million Afghans of food, classified in Crisis or Emergency (IPC Phases 3 or 4), between March and May 2022 (the lean season), latest data shows. Among these are about 6.6 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 13 million in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).

The impact of high food prices, remaining sanctions on the de facto authorities, unemployment, and a significant decrease in income and purchasing power of communities were the major impediments that prevented a considerable improvement during the post-harvest period.

He said key drivers of the country’s acute food insecurity included economic decline, drought, high food and input prices, and the impact of the Ukraine conflict. In response, the FAO was recommending to urgently scale up lifesaving food assistance, provide more livelihood support, and focus on women and children support women and children in crisis.

Read the full FAO press release and WFP press release.

Source: Source: UN Information Service in Geneva