Highlights
Conflict and displacement has continued into 2017 with 68,000 new IDPs registered in the first quarter of the year. This is a 40 per cent reduction in displacement compared to the same period in 2016, and 23 per cent of the new caseload is in hard-to-reach areas. During the first half of 2017, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 5,243 civilian casualties (1,662 deaths and 3,581 injured) of which 1,577 were children (436 deaths and 1,141 injured). There has been a one per cent increase in child death and injuries compared to the first half of 2016. A total of 17,970 undocumented returnees arrived from Pakistan, which is a 20 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2016 (HRP first quarter report for 2017).
UNICEF and partners have so far provided:
• 34 per cent of the 250,000 targeted population with access to safe drinking water;
• 25,000 school-aged children, including adolescents reached with formal and non-formal education. This is 25 per cent of the targeted children ;
• 107,328 children under-five suffering from severe acute malnutrition with treatment. This is 45 per cent of its target.
• 79 per cent of the targeted emergency-affected boys and girls (22,699), including separated children, benefited from psychosocial services.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
January - June 2017
5,300,000 # of children in need of humanitarian assistance
9,300,000 # of people in need of humanitarian assistance (HNO, 2017)
1, 100,000 #of documented & undocumented returnees in need of humanitarian assistance (HRP 1st quarter report 2017)
100,000 #of new refugees from Pakistan in need of humanitarian assistance (HRP 1st quarter report 2017)
457,000 # of children suffering from severe and moderate acute malnutrition (HRP 2017)
UNICEF Appeal 2017 US$ 30.5 million
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
A total of 9.3 million people need humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, of which 5.3 million are under 18 years old.1 In the first half of 2017, UNAMA documented 5,243 civilian casualties (1,662 deaths and 3,581 injured) of which 1,577 were child casualties (436 deaths and 1,141 injured). There has been a one per cent increase in child death and injuries compared to the first half of 2016. Children accounted for 30 per cent of all civilian casualties. The numbers of conflict-affected IDPs and newly arrived returnees currently stand at 163,000 and 277,000 respectively. The population affected by natural disaster is currently 45,000 compared to the projected 100,000.
Malnutrition remains a problem with 1.3 million children under-five in need of treatment for acute malnutrition in 2017.2 Over a quarter of all provinces have acute malnutrition rates above 15 per cent, thus classifying them at an emergency level. The recurrent episodes of emergencies and poor road infrastructure have strained the capacity of basic service delivery. Health services currently reach around 60 per cent of the population and this is reflected in the low routine immunization coverage (less than 75 per cent coverage for measles in one quarter of districts). Only 48 per cent of deliveries take place in health facilities while only 18 per cent of pregnant women are provided with four ANC visits that are attended by trained health staff.
IOM and UNHCR estimate that 35 per cent of the returnees are children in urgent need of education, with only every fifth girl attending school. This risks creating a generation of children deprived of education and protection if their needs are not adequately met by an effective emergency response. The armed conflict is also impacting on the provision of general education, including through the closure or destruction of schools.