Briefing the Security Council this week, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan Georgette Gagnon and UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Tom Fletcher said that nearly half of Afghanistan’s population will require protection and humanitarian assistance in 2026.
Gagnon said women and girls continue to be systematically excluded from almost every aspect of public life. The nationwide ban on secondary and higher education for girls has now entered its fourth year, depriving the country of future professionals, including doctors, teachers and community leaders.
Media freedom is also shrinking, she noted. Journalists face intimidation, detention and censorship, limiting space for public debate and suppressing critical information. Afghans across society endure daily interference under the de facto authorities’ law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice, which has led to what she described as systematic intrusions into private life.
Humanitarian needs are rising sharply. Fletcher reported that nearly 22 million people will require assistance next year, placing Afghanistan among the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies. Hunger levels have increased for the first time in four years, with 17.4 million people now food insecure. Severe funding shortages have forced cuts to essential programmes, leaving the aid system stretched to breaking point.
More than 300 nutrition centres have closed, leaving 1.1 million children without lifesaving support and 1.7 million at risk of death without treatment. The health system is also under severe pressure, with 422 facilities shut in 2025, cutting three million people off from care.
Refugee returns are adding to the strain. More than 2.6 million Afghans have returned this year alone from neighbouring countries, bringing the two-year total to more than four million. Many arrive with little and settle in already impoverished communities. Women and children make up 60% of those returning, yet they face restrictions on education, employment and in some cases, healthcare.
Economic pressures remain severe. Although gross domestic product is projected to grow by 4.5%, per capita income is expected to fall by around 4% because of rapid population growth. Rural communities have been hit hard by the third year of the opium cultivation ban, contributing to a reported 48% drop in rural incomes.
Tensions along the Pakistan border have risen due to cross-border exchanges linked to militant activity, while the temporary closure of key border points has disrupted trade and civilian movement.
Humanitarian operations face further challenges as Afghan women working for the UN continue to be barred from entering UN premises, a restriction in place since September. Fletcher said the measure is severely undermining aid delivery, stressing that an effective response is impossible without the participation of women.
“Afghanistan needs them,” he emphasised, calling for renewed international engagement and the lifting of restrictions that impede essential services.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
