OVERVIEW
Between January and May 2023, humanitarian partners in Afghanistan reached 18.3 million people with food and livelihood support, 6.9 million with healthcare, 2.7 million children and pregnant/lactating women with malnutrition support, 5.4 million with water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, 697,900 children with education access, 394,300 with emergency shelter and household items, and 1.5 million with protection assistance. Overall, the 2023 humanitarian response has reached 21.3 million people, with 19.6 million receiving direct assistance. Funding has relied on $850 million carried over from 2022 and scant new funding in 2023 ($605m by May). Limited resources led to fewer assistance rounds and halved rations, leaving 18 million people in IPC 3+ areas without food assistance, while 3.4 million received half rations, including IPC 4 areas. Bans on Afghan women working for I/NGOs and the UN have added complexity to the challenging operating and protection environment. Despite this, the humanitarian community aims for a scaled-up response, prioritizing quality through risk mitigation and common tools to ensure minimum standards for quality programming. In light of the changing operating environment, the 2023 HRP was revised in May to assess the validity of initial planning assumptions and to adjust the response accordingly. Based on the revision, partners now aim to reach 21.3 million people with a budget of $3.2 billion throughout 2023, including $2.26 billion in unmet requirements between June to December and $942 million expended between January to May. In the coming months, millions of people who have received assistance will require ongoing support. This includes tailored packages addressing various needs, including food, cash, healthcare, education, dignified shelter, and water access. As of June, critical supplies for ES-NFI, WASH, and FSAC face pipeline break risks due to funding gaps, particularly pulses, wheat flour, and vegetable oil from August. Early funding is needed to procure and deliver core supplies, mitigate border delays and market disruptions, and pre-position relief items in highly affected areas.