Afghanistan’s Food Crisis Reaches Unprecedented Levels

As reported by the UNHCR, the food crisis in Afghanistan has now reached "truly unprecedented levels". As our infographic highlights, using projections from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's acute food insecurity analysis, almost 23 million people – representing 55 percent of the population – are facing extreme levels of hunger.

Of that number, 8.7 million people in the country are at risk of famine, with their current situation classified as an emergency. The next and most serious IPC classification would be 'Catastrophe'. The UNHCR estimates that 3.5 million people are currently displaced within Afghanistan due to conflict, and with the harsh winter period approaching warns that "a lack of insulated shelters, warm clothes, insufficient fuel for heating, and inadequate amounts of food and medical supplies" mean the country really is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

UNHCR has begun a global fundraising winter campaign to "help ease the burden for forcibly displaced families amid the most life-threatening months of the year". The funding needs for the Afghanistan Situation in 2022 are forecast at $374.9 million.