The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has reported that in 2024, approximately 23.7 million people in Afghanistan, including 12.3 million children, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
As of now, only 35 percent of the necessary USD 1.4 billion funding for these children has been secured.
The organisation's latest report, released in March, details the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. It identifies prolonged conflicts, climate change, economic downturn, and rising unemployment as critical drivers of poverty in the region.
The report documents significant healthcare challenges in Afghanistan, with 14,570 suspected measles cases and 71 related deaths recorded since the start of the year. Notably, over 11,000 of these cases involve Afghan children under five years old, and more than 6,000 are women.
Recent heavy rainfall on March 29 and 30 has exacerbated the situation, destroying more than 1,500 acres of arable land and over 500 houses across various provinces, according to this UN agency.
In March alone, 17 incidents were documented concerning women’s participation and restrictions in humanitarian programmes. UNICEF has urged its humanitarian partners to ensure the safety of female staff operating in the country.
These developments come amidst ongoing concerns by organisations such as Save the Children, which recently highlighted the plight of 250,000 Afghan children who have returned from Pakistan, now facing acute shortages of food and shelter in Afghanistan.
