Afghanistan is launching a $100 million food security project to tackle one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. The United Nations announced the initiative on Thursday. Currently, the nation is struggling with a “perfect storm” of economic collapse, mass deportations, and declining international aid.
The humanitarian landscape in the country has reached a critical breaking point. Millions of citizens face extreme hunger. This is largely due to a lack of jobs, the loss of overseas money transfers (remittances), and a sharp drop in foreign assistance.
A Lifeline for Vulnerable Families and Returnees
The two-year program is a joint effort between the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. It is designed to provide immediate help to over 151,000 families nationwide.
Specifically, the project focuses on these high-risk groups:
- Afghan Returnees: Families recently expelled from Iran and Pakistan.
- Disaster Survivors: Communities recovering from devastating earthquakes and seasonal floods.
- Vulnerable Households: People facing harsh winter conditions without a stable income.
Structural Goals: Closing the Food Gap
Qu Dongyu, the director of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), emphasized the project’s broad vision. While it meets immediate survival needs, the initiative also has long-term structural goals. Specifically, it aims to close the gap in national food production and revitalize the local private sector.
However, the scale of the challenge remains daunting. The FAO has released a 2026 projection highlighting the severity of the crisis:
- Acute Food Insecurity: 17.4 million people will likely be affected this year.
- Acute Malnutrition: Approximately 4.7 million people are projected to suffer.
The Impact of Mass Deportations
The sudden influx of people is a primary driver of the current crisis. Over the past year, more than 2.5 million Afghans were forced to leave Iran and Pakistan. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), this surge has increased the national population by roughly 10% in a very short time.
This mass movement has strained local resources significantly. Furthermore, it has severed the flow of remittances. Many families previously relied on this money sent from workers abroad to survive. Consequently, the WFP warned that last year saw the highest surge in malnutrition ever recorded in the country. Unfortunately, conditions are expected to worsen throughout 2026.
