The number of people in need has risen to 21.9 million, nearly half the population, and 3.5 million more than in 2021
Afghanistan is entering its sixth consecutive year of drought, with 4.7 million people at emergency levels of food insecurity — one step away from famine
Donors need commit humanitarian funding that is flexible, multi-year and supports critical areas like nutrition and maternal health services reaching women and children in the hardest-hit provinces
August 14, 2026 — Five years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, nearly half the population is now living in crisis. Yet as needs rise exponentially, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that sweeping global aid cuts have forced it to scale back nutrition treatment and maternal health services in communities where few other options exist.
An epicenter of a new world disorder, Afghanistan has faced one of the worst prolonged crises of the 20th and 21st centuries. The triple threat of aid cuts, the climate crisis, and a mass return of 3.2 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, have left public services on the brink of collapse, leaving families with nowhere to go.
“At the exact moment Afghanistan’s hunger crisis hit its worst point in recorded history, the world pulled back the funding needed to respond,” said Bostan Fahim, IRC Afghanistan Programme Director. “The IRC has worked in Afghanistan for nearly four decades, and we have never been less equipped to meet the need in front of us.”
The IRC began providing maternal health and nutrition services in Afghanistan in 2022, starting from no supported clinics and building a network that now reaches tens of thousands of people a year. Between 2022 and 2025, IRC teams provided first antenatal care to more than 53,000 women and treated over 8,000 children for the most severe form of malnutrition.
That progress is now unravelling. The number of health facilities the IRC runs has fallen from a peak of 46 in 2023 to just 16 today — a collapse of nearly two-thirds, with the sharpest drop following funding cuts in 2025. First antenatal visits, often a woman's only contact with a health worker during pregnancy, have dropped 24% from their peak. IRC frontline staff report a rising demand for these services even amid a near-total collapse in funding.
Afghanistan's 2026 humanitarian appeal is only a quarter funded, against a total need of $1.71 billion. The consequences are measurable in the IRC's own work: in a single year, the number of people its teams could reach fell by roughly two-thirds as funding dried up. The IRC is calling on donor governments to reverse the cuts driving this crisis deeper, and commit to new, flexible, multi-year funding for the nutrition, maternal health and outreach services that reach malnourished children and pregnant women in the provinces where need is greatest, and where few other options remain.
Flora Alexander, IRC UK Executive Director, said:
"Five years after the Taliban took control, Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis is deepening — and UK support is shrinking. Bilateral aid is down 60 per cent since 2021. Nutrition and maternal health services are being cut just as needs surge, leaving people with nowhere left to turn.
Cutting aid while closing routes to safety and opportunity sends a clear signal that Afghans are being forgotten. The UK must reverse this retreat — protect humanitarian funding for Afghanistan, and keep safe routes open so Afghans can build a future through education and opportunity."
The IRC’s support [notes to editors]
The IRC has worked in Afghanistan since 1988 and operates across 10 provinces, delivering health, nutrition, education, clean water and economic support. Its integrated health and nutrition programme in Herat and Badghis screens and treats malnourished children and supports pregnant and breastfeeding women through static facilities and mobile teams. Since October 2025, IRC teams have reached 450,000 people.
In the UK, the IRC has supported Afghan refugees as they rebuild their lives over the past five years. This has included specialised integration sessions, employment support, peer mentorship opportunities, and leadership training. The IRC also supports refugee children, including Afghan children, through its Healing Classrooms programme, which supports schools and educators in developing inclusive and nurturing learning spaces.
IRC UK is advocating for clarity from the new UK Government on how much UK Official Development Assistance will go towards Fragile and Conflict-Affected States including Afghanistan and calling for allocations that will deliver sustained, meaningful impact for people living through the world’s toughest crises.
