Highlights
In the context of a deteriorating security situation, humanitarian needs continue to increase. 168,00 people have been displaced due to conflict since the beginning of 2017. Hotspots in July included Kunduz and Faryab provinces in northern Afghanistan, Ghor province in the east and Kabul city.
In response, WFP Afghanistan assisted 415,000 vulnerable people in July.
Looking ahead, displacement, conflict and economic disruption will continue to affect the food security of the poorest families. In the second half of 2017, returnees will likely enter Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (food security crisis) if they don’t receive assistance.
Operational Updates
In July, WFP distributed 2,637 mt of WFP food and USD 433,000 worth of cash-based transfers to 415,000 food-insecure people in Afghanistan. This includes 98,000 girls and boys in school, 168,000 malnourished or highly vulnerable children below five years of age and pregnant and nursing women, and 148,000 food-insecure people affected by conflict and natural disasters and returnees.
During the month, WFP and other humanitarian agencies jointly identified 13,000 newly internally displaced families who will now receive WFP cash or food assistance for two months in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand, Faryab, Balkh, Kunduz, Baghlan, Jawzjan, Nangarhar, Herat, Badghis, Farah, Ghor and Badakhshan Provinces.
From 23 to 26 July, WFP supported the capacity building of the Government’s Strategic Grain Reserve. 22 government staff received training in warehouse management and food quality control.
WFP completed the disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects in Badakhshan province, north-eastern Afghanistan and Samangan province in the north. The projects aim to reduce community risk from natural disasters through the construction of communityowned irrigation canals and flood protection walls. WFP supported communities over 6 months by providing participants with enough food to support their families in return for their work on the projects. 950 families will benefit from the new assets.
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), part of WFP, transported 1,977 aid workers and 4 mt of light cargo to 20 destinations in-country in July. In Afghanistan, 160 organizations rely on UNHAS to reach populations in need.