The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of France are supporting earthquake-affected communities in eastern Afghanistan to restore food security, improve nutrition and protect livelihoods. The €2 million initiative is supported by France under the French Initiative for Food Security and Nutrition (FIFSAN) and focuses on strengthening household food production, improving access to nutritious diets and essential services and reducing malnutrition, particularly among women and children.

The project will reach 51 870 people in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, where families are still reeling from the August 2025 earthquake amid worsening acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Many households are rebuilding in communities that have seen recent displacement and forced returns, adding strain to already limited land, food and basic services. Implementation will focus on Chawaki and Nurgal districts of Kunar province and Dara-e-Nur district of Nangarhar province, where damage to productive assets has directly undermined families’ ability to feed themselves. At the wider community level, the reach is expected to extend indirectly to approximately 190 000 additional people, as food production, nutrition and essential services are strengthened across districts.

The devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage to homes, cropland, food stocks, livestock assets, and critical health, nutrition and WASH infrastructure, compounding an already severe humanitarian situation. In rural areas of eastern Afghanistan, where families depend heavily on farming and livestock for both food and income, the damages and losses incurred have had lasting consequences.

“Almost a year after the Nutrition for Growth summit held in Paris in March 2025, eradicating malnutrition in all its forms remains a priority for the French authorities. Through this project, France, FAO and UNICEF show that we can collectively bring concrete solutions for the Afghan people, who are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, and especially women and children” said Salina Grenet-Catalano, Director of Global Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and foreign affairs. “Food security and nutrition are not only humanitarian and development concerns. They are foundations for peace, social stability and collective security, shared by all.”