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Nearly 20 million people going hungry in Afghanistan, warns the UN World Food Programme (WFP)
Almost half of the population in Afghanistan – nearly 20 million people – are facing acute hunger, according to the latest food security analysis, the Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The report, conducted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), WFP and many non-governmental organizations was made in January and February.
“18.9 million people are forecast to face acute hunger up until November this year”, said WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for Asia, Anthea Webb, when speaking at a news briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. “Generous donor support to humanitarian food assistance and agricultural livelihoods has been an absolute lifeline to alleviate suffering so far.”
Although humanitarian assistance averted a catastrophe in the harsh winter months, hunger continues at unprecedented levels across the country.
“WFP, known to the world as largest humanitarian food operation, reaching more than 16 million people so far in 2022”, said Anthea Webb. “We're working with farmers, millers, and bakeries, training women and creating jobs to support the local economy. And we will continue to invest in people's livelihoods through skills training and climate adaptation projects.”
Of particular concern – and for the first time since the introduction of the IPC in Afghanistan in 2011 – pockets of “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity, or IPC Phase 5, has been detected in the country.
More than 20,000 people in Ghor province, located in the northeast, are facing catastrophic levels of hunger resulting from a long period of harsh winter and disastrous agricultural conditions.
“Drought and economic crisis persist, threatening close to 20 million people across the country and the war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on global food and fuel prices, especially acutely in Afghanistan where they were already much higher than before”, said Anthea Webb.
The report predicts a slight improvement in food security from June through November. This is partly due to the wheat harvest season from May to August and a scale up in humanitarian food assistance, facilitated by donor support.
The latest announcement made by the Taliban de facto authorities saying that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity and then, with their faces covered in public, will aggravate an already dire circumstance.
“In any situation where such an important portion of the population that women represent are unable to go to work - both because they've lost their jobs or because they are afraid to leave their houses, or because of newly imposed restrictions, - and that is bound to have a disproportionate effect on the family's ability to feed themselves”, said Anthea Webb.
WFP requires US$ 1.4 billion in 2022 to continue emergency, nutrition, and resilience response.
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- Exterior close-up shot, flag alley, UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, UN Geneva Press room, podium speaker and large-screen TV showing speakers in room and remotely.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Anthea Webb, WFP, Deputy Regional Director for Asia (Zoom from Bangkok): “18.9 million people are forecast to face acute hunger up until November this year. Generous donor support to humanitarian food assistance and agricultural livelihoods has been an absolute lifeline to alleviate suffering, so far.”
- Close-up, frame of a masked participant in the foreground, TV showing speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Anthea Webb, WFP, Deputy Regional Director for Asia (Zoom from Bangkok): “WFP, known to the world as largest humanitarian food operation, reaching more than 16 million people so far in 2022. We're working with farmers, millers, and bakeries, training women and creating jobs to support the local economy. And we will continue to invest in people's livelihoods through skills training and climate adaptation projects.”
- Medium shot, seated participants listening attentively.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Anthea Webb, WFP, Deputy Regional Director for Asia (Zoom from Bangkok): “Drought and economic crisis persist, threatening close to 20 million people across the country and the war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on global food and fuel prices, especially acutely in Afghanistan where they were already much higher than before.”
- Medium shot, participants listening in the foreground, camera with tripod to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Anthea Webb, WFP, Deputy Regional Director for Asia (Zoom from Bangkok): “In any situation where such an important portion of the population that women represent are unable to go to work - both because they've lost their jobs or because they are afraid to leave their houses, or because of newly imposed restrictions, - and that is bound to have a disproportionate effect on the family's ability to feed themselves.”
- Close-up, hand taking notes on the paper.
- Medium, participant listening in the foreground, TV showing speakers to rear.
- Close-up, fingers tapping the laptop.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
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- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
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Preparing for moving baselines
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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