Cluster needs
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains critical, with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) needs driven by climatic shocks, natural disasters, and an unstable geopolitical and economic environment. The weather and climate forecast predicts above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation from October 2024 to May 2025, due to La Niña conditions. Snowpack and snow water volumes will likely be below average, leading to limited water availability that will further worsen the ground water recharge capacity and increase depletion for domestic water coupled with unregulated extraction in some locations. The 2024 Whole of Afghanistan Assessment (WoAA) indicates that 80 per cent of rural communities experienced drought, severely affecting 20 provinces. Despite fewer drought events, water access remains inadequate, particularly in rural areas. Urban households face insufficient drinking water, while drought-affected rural households lack water for hygiene and soap, increasing sanitation needs.
Water scarcity worsened in 2024, with 23 per cent of households reporting insufficient water for hygiene, up from 15 per cent in 2023. Soap availability also decreased, with 44 per cent of households lacking it, compared to 24 per cent in 2023. Barriers to water access increased across the rural and urban areas exacerbated by recurring drought, particularly for female-headed households, who face economic hardships and safety concerns when collecting water. Vulnerable groups, including women and people with disabilities, experience disproportionate impacts from limited WASH services, with 21 provinces reporting severe barriers to water access for female-headed households with 34 per cent of households reporting difficulties in 2024, up from 23 per cent in 2023. Households also face rising monthly expenditures on water, with 13 per cent across all provinces stating that water is too expensive. The challenges in accessing water for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene are pushing some communities towards displacement, with women facing heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV) during water collection, which can take up to a full day.
The warm summer seasons coincides with the spread of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera as witnessed in 2024 where 171,600 cases and 87 associated deaths were reported across 351 districts in all 34 provinces. Children under five are the most (55.3 per cent) severely affected as catastrophic AWD severity has been recorded in 54 districts.
Afghanistan's exposure to natural hazards such as drought, floods, and earthquakes, compounds the WASH challenges, with 19.4 million people living in earthquake high-risk zones and 2.2 million people at high risk of flooding. Declining infrastructure, including nonfunctional water systems at community, healthcare facilities, nutrition centres and schools, continue to exacerbate the situation, especially in rural and returnee-affected areas. Communicable diseases attributed to lack of WASH like diarrhoea, malaria and acute respiratory infections are an immediate cause of acute malnutrition, as malnutrition increases the risk of infection, while infection can lead to malnutrition. Over half (60 per cent) of children have been reported as sick. According to WoAA (July-August 2024), the national prevalence of diarrhoea among surveyed children under five was 64 per cent.
As of 2024, 35 per cent of households across Afghanistan relied on unimproved water sources, with 27 per cent in rural areas and 13 per cent in urban settings reporting the same. Moreover, 39 per cent of households at the district level report insufficient water access, particularly citing reasons such as the long distance to water points, dried-up sources, and economic barriers. 57 per cent of households across the country lack access to soap, and 28 per cent rely on improved latrines, with a higher concentration in rural areas (38 per cent), while 9 per cent of households practice open defecation—a 3 per cent increase from 2023. Seasonal patterns are evident in WASH needs, with prolonged droughts, displacement, and economic shocks persisting throughout the year, while flooding and AWD outbreaks peak during the spring and summer months. The limited capacity of water and sanitation authorities, such as Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage (AUWASS) and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (MRRD)’s Rural Water Supply and Irrigation Programme (RUWATSIP), along with funding constraints for humanitarian actors, has resulted in 59 per cent of water systems being non-functional or dried up. Influxes of returnee’s further strain these systems, driving negative coping mechanisms among affected communities. The situation is exacerbated by stalled infrastructure projects, such as the multipurpose dam in Arghandab in Helmand and Paktika, which could have contributed to groundwater recharge in provinces like Helmand, Kabul and Kandahar. Without significant investment, over 10 million people in urban and peri-urban areas will remain exposed to heightened vulnerabilities, including increased mortality and morbidity due to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation facilities.
Response strategy
Cluster response plan
With evidence and interrelation between communicable diseases and acute malnutrition, malnutrition increases the risk of infections, while infections can lead to malnutrition. Climate forecast prediction of above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation from October 2024 to May 2025, due to La Niña conditions, will not only strain agricultural productivity but also domestic water. In that regard, there is need for urgent and multisectoral interventions to address these vulnerabilities. The WASH Cluster’s 2025 response prioritizes:
- enhancing safe water supply for domestic use, focusing on water quality monitoring, household water treatment, network rehabilitation, and rainwater harvesting, with water trucking considered as a phase-1 emergency response and as a last resort, targeting both urban and rural contexts with an emphasis on mapping water networks and wells;
- promoting hygiene practices, including handwashing, personal hygiene, and culturally appropriate NFI distribution, supported by behaviour-change communication; and
- ensuring safe sanitation through emergency latrines, improved access to facilities, environmental sanitation and addressing risk factors associated with poor sanitation practices.
The response will target high- and medium-priority drought-affected provinces, focusing on safe drinking water provision, sanitation facilities through construction/rehabilitation, extension of water points, and water trucking as a last resort. In parallel, appropriate latrines, showers, and functional handwashing facilities will be established, and hygiene promotion and the possible distribution of hygiene kits. Support for AWD will concentrate on hotspot areas identified by Health Cluster’s data. The response will serve drought-affected populations, returnees, those impacted by natural disasters and female-headed households, emphasizing marginalized groups like women, adolescent girls, and people living with disabilities (PLWD). Gender parity will be promoted through consultations and feedback mechanisms, addressing GBV risks and ensuring inclusive WASH designs (e.g., ramps and handwashing stations designed for PLWD).
To address operational challenges, the WASH Cluster will continue to engage the MRRD and high-level technical committee to unblock Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) delays and other impediments. Where feasible, cash and vouchers will be explored for hygiene kits and water supply. In areas with access constraints or funding gaps, multi-sector collaborations (WASH-Health-Nutrition) will ensure service continuity. Contingency plans will adapt to evolving scenarios, ensuring uninterrupted delivery despite disruptions, including challenges posed by the de facto authorities (DfA) decrees and the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MoPVPV) ‘Morality Law’. Exploring additional partnerships with local NGOs and community leaders could further improve access in hard-to-reach areas. WASH interventions will complement Basic Human Needs (BHN) initiatives, ensuring integrated service delivery, particularly at health facilities, schools, and border crossing points. Pre-positioning key supplies (e.g., soaps, chlorine, water purification tablets, and hygiene kits) will enhance rapid response capacity, especially for AWD prevention in border areas like Takhar and Spin Boldak, which remain at high risk due to population influxes. Further collaboration with Protection and Education Clusters can enhance sustainability and resilience, particularly for displaced populations.
Targeting and prioritization
In 2025, the WASH Cluster will prioritise districts with severity levels 3 and 4, which face extreme drought, flood risks, and limited access to safe water and sanitation. Acute malnutrition and AWD hotspots will receive special attention based on service gap mapping and partner reports. This aligns with the latest needs analysis and infographics. Vulnerable groups, such as women, children and persons with disabilities, will be prioritised to ensure equitable access to WASH services.
Boundary-setting was informed by severity assessments, drought and flood risks, and AWD mapping. Areas with high water facility dysfunction—where 59 per cent of systems are non-functional or dried up—are targeted to prevent further deterioration. Poorly supported urban water networks and weak maintenance of water plants present collapse risks that could leave millions in critical need. Without reinforcement, water scarcity could escalate, pressuring functional water points and threatening both rural and urban areas.
If 50 per cent funding is received, the focus will be on maintaining water supply in severity 3 and 4 areas, scaling up hygiene promotion and sanitation interventions. This would leave 11 million people without safe drinking water, 9.4 million without excreta disposal, and 15 million without essential hygiene services, affecting 5.1 million women, 11.6 million children, and 1.9 million persons with disabilities.
If only 25 per cent funding is received, only critical activities like emergency water trucking and essential sanitation in AWD hotspots will be implemented, leading to severe gaps in urban and rural areas. Insufficient funding will limit water system repairs and heighten the risk of waterborne diseases, with communities increasingly forced to adopt negative coping mechanisms.
Continued underfunding will severely limit the ability to repair and maintain water systems, leading to increased pressure on functional water sources and heightening the risks of negative coping mechanisms, including unsafe water collection practices, GBV and protection concerns. The risk of water-borne, water-related and faecal-oral disease outbreaks will increase significantly if urban, informal, and rural communities do not receive consistent access to drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing services. In 2024, only 5 out of more than 70 partners responded to AWD and cholera cases, leaving 6 hotspot provinces without any WASH coverage. Nearly half a million people were left unassisted due to funding shortages, highlighting the importance of adequate financial support to prevent similar or worsening gaps in 2025.
Promoting accountable, quality and inclusive programming
The WASH Cluster's 2025 strategy is informed by community consultations, particularly in high-severity areas (levels 3 and 4) where women and girls feel unsafe accessing water points or latrines. The response will focus on 24 provinces, including Badakhshan, Kabul and Kandahar, based on the 2024 WoAA survey. Accountability will be ensured through the Gender and Protection Technical Working Group, which will follow the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GIHA WG) guidance to involve women in decision-making. Women and girls will be consulted in designing WASH facilities and determining hygiene kit contents. The use of female hygiene promoters will facilitate safe engagement. Community feedback will be gathered through Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) platforms, allowing adjustments to the response based on community concerns.
WASH interventions will be tailored to meet the unique needs of women, girls, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. Women and girls will participate in WASH decision-making through consultations led by female staff. WASH facilities (e.g., toilets, showers, handwashing points) will be designed with their safety in mind, addressing cultural and privacy concerns. Based on distribution reports and post-distribution monitoring, hygiene kits tailored to women’s needs will be distributed, with female hygiene promoters delivering messages. Accessibility for persons with disabilities will be ensured through ramps, handrails, wide doorways, and low-level taps. Disaggregated data and knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) surveys will guide targeted interventions for people with disabilities.
The WASH Cluster will integrate Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) into the response, using a victim-centred approach. Facilities will be designed to reduce GBV risks, with separate, well-lit spaces for men and women. Partners will be trained to identify and refer SEA cases confidentially, and GBV risk mitigation will be incorporated into all WASH interventions.
Links to basic services and basic human needs (BHN) programmes
In 2025, the WASH Cluster will prioritise the reinforcement and upgrading of WASH facilities across both rural and urban areas, with a particular focus on scaling up activities in major cities. However, while humanitarian actors can play a key role in supporting facilities improvements, the running costs and ongoing service delivery for water and sanitation must be covered by the government and development funding. These costs, borne by governmental line ministries and state entities, are essential to sustain the provision of water and sanitation services in urban and peri-urban areas. Given the critical state of urban water supply services, it is crucial that humanitarian WASH services work in tandem with development actors, particularly in areas where urban water supply services and sewerage companies are facing severe operational challenges. The WASH Cluster aims to fill existing gaps, especially in the face of recurrent AWD outbreaks, deteriorating facilities and underfunded service provision.
The situation is particularly dire in urban settings, where continuous economic challenges and the failure of development entities to sustain service delivery threaten to push a significant portion of the population into a humanitarian crisis. This is especially concerning in the context of prolonged drought, which has already placed considerable strain on available resources. To address these challenges, the WASH Cluster will collaborate with government line ministries and local authorities in major urban centres such as Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif. Specific support will include the repair and maintenance of water reticulation networks and smaller water systems, power generation, and the installation and upkeep of treatment plants. These efforts will be crucial in preventing urban and peri-urban populations from slipping into further crises. Capacity-building activities will be provided to strengthen the technical and operational capacities of local authorities, ensuring they are equipped to manage WASH facilities sustainably.
Additionally, the WASH Cluster will explore opportunities for collaboration with the DfA to establish a common approach to water resource management, particularly in drought-affected areas. This collaboration will also include the introduction of community-based water surveillance and early warning systems. The Cluster will further engage with traditional water management structures, which oversee irrigation systems and livestock water sources, to ensure a holistic and sustainable approach to managing water resources. By linking humanitarian WASH interventions to basic needs programming, we aim to address underlying vulnerabilities and enable a more comprehensive and sustainable response to the ongoing water and sanitation crisis.
Cost of response
The WASH Cluster in Afghanistan uses a bottom-up costing methodology that reflects local market conditions for supplies, personnel, and logistics. This approach ensures transparent financial planning, capturing local cost variances and logistical challenges for accurate budgeting and resource allocation. Regular cost-benefit analyses guide efficient interventions, prioritising scalable WASH solutions with a high return on investment and a focus on prevention to reduce future costs.
Given the volatile operational environment, including inflation and supply chain disruptions, the Cluster adapts budgets by exploring innovative logistical solutions, such as partnerships with local suppliers and cost-efficient transportation methods. Additionally, the WASH Cluster collaborates with other sectors like health and shelter to foster shared costing practices, especially in urban settings. This integrated approach enhances cost-efficiency, transparency, and accountability, while joint funding proposals streamline resource use across sectors..
Cluster severity and PiN calculation methodology
The WASH Cluster employed a systematic and evidence-based approach to assess the severity of needs and calculate the number of people in need (PiN) for WASH services. The methodology is specifically designed to ensure that interventions are effectively targeted and aligned with the most pressing needs of affected populations.
The PiN for WASH was calculated based on severity at the district level, with a clear distinction between urban and rural populations. Districts were prioritized based on severity levels, specifically focusing on those categorized as levels 3 and 4. This prioritization allows for a targeted response that addresses the most critical needs first.
The severity assessment was grounded in three primary Joint Inter-Agency Framework (JIAF) indicators:
- Availability of soap and water for handwashing;
- Sufficient quality and quantity of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, and other domestic uses; and
- Access to functional and improved sanitation facilities.
These indicators provided a comprehensive overview of WASH conditions and guided our intervention strategies.
To enhance the accuracy of the assessments, the severity calculations were overlayed with additional data from partners’ reports and service coverage. On top perception indicators concerning women's safety when using WASH facilities, the triangulation included data on the prevalence of AWD in 2024, the severity of AWD cases, and the prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in children under 5, as reported through the health information management system and WoAA. The impact of natural occurrences, such as floods, earthquakes, and droughts, which further exacerbate WASH needs.
Data was consolidated at the provincial level and triangulated with findings from the 2022/23 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and mid-year WASH prioritization exercises. This comprehensive approach ensured that the WASH assessments are robust and reflective of the current humanitarian landscape. Additionally, historical and trend data were utilized to enhance predictions and projections of WASH needs for 2025. This continuous monitoring and evaluation framework will allow the Cluster to adapt response strategies based on dynamic context, evolving needs and conditions in Afghanistan.
Needs analysis, response monitoring strategy and data gaps
The WASH Cluster aims to enhance its needs assessments to inform cluster response planning for 2025 by leveraging updated data from MRRD and the Urban Water Supply and Sewerage State Owned Corporation (UWAS SoC). This data will be triangulated with findings from WoAA and Secondary Food Security Assessment (SFSA), along with insights from partner assessments, to provide a comprehensive understanding of WASH needs across affected areas.
To improve monitoring of the response amidst ongoing restrictions and contextual challenges, the Cluster will utilise Awaaz, a feedback and complaint tracking platform. This will help us gather real-time data on WASH needs from the affected population, including cross-sectoral indicators related to the safety of women and girls accessing water points and latrines, as well as the number of children under 5 suffering from AWD. The Cluster will closely monitor these indicators through multi-sectoral assessments in collaboration with partners from the GBV, Nutrition, and Health Clusters. The WASH Cluster is committed to improving the monitoring of AAP, gender inclusion, PSEA, and disability considerations by integrating specific indicators into our monitoring frameworks. This includes tracking the number of complaints related to PSEA, monitoring gender-disaggregated data on service access, and ensuring that feedback mechanisms are accessible to persons with disabilities. Regular training and capacity-building initiatives for partner organisations will also be implemented to enhance their understanding and adherence to these priorities.
To address monitoring challenges posed by DfA, as well as the complexities surrounding development programs, sanctions, and basic service restrictions, the WASH Cluster will adopt a collaborative approach. This involves engaging local authorities and community leaders to facilitate access to affected areas for assessments and monitoring activities. Building partnerships with local organisations will also help navigate bureaucratic obstacles and enhance the acceptance of our monitoring efforts within the community.
Several data gaps have been identified that may limit the accuracy and availability of monitoring and reporting. Key gaps include:
- The need for robust quantitative and qualitative data on the functionality of water points and urban water networks, particularly in regions affected by the 2023 earthquake.
- Insufficient groundwater monitoring data for early warning systems necessitates defining critical parameters such as the spatial and temporal distribution of aquifer monitoring wells and the characteristics of the aquifers.
- A lack of comprehensive water quality control activities, which will be addressed through partnerships with the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) to establish a water surveillance system for early warning on groundwater levels and the qualitative aspects of both protected and unprotected water sources.
Additionally, the Cluster will conduct rapid needs assessments in shock- and natural disaster-affected areas and maintain continuous monitoring of movement trends, especially for returnees, through regional coordination channels.
References
- WoAA/ REACH 2024
- Afghanistan: Infectious Disease Outbreaks Epidemiological Week # 49, 2024
- DRR and Seasonal Climate Analysis. iMMAP, https://hsdc.immap.org