Overview

Afghanistan’s economy remains exceedingly fragile, and the food insecurity remains alarmingly high. In October 2023, during the postharvest season, approximately 13.1 million people, accounting for 29 percent of the total population (based on 2024 Flowminder national population estimates) are facing high level of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above). The main drivers of this acute food insecurity include challenging economic conditions, high unemployment rates compounded by the limited access to income that reduced purchasing power, in a context of continued high prices of food and agricultural inputs, reduced livelihood opportunities and decreased remittances. The adverse impact of extreme and variable climatic conditions, particularly the multi-year drought experienced between 2021 and 2023, continues to be felt in 2023. Additionally, other natural hazards such as flooding and earthquakes further compromise the limited coping capacity of the population, resulting in the persistence of a severe food insecurity situation.