14.2M Estimated to be Experiencing Acute Food Insecurity in Afghanistan, UN Agency Warns

Despite a significant improvement over the past two years, Afghanistan continues to grapple with one of the world’s largest food security crises, with an estimated 14.2 million people, or 37% of the population, currently facing acute food insecurity, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday citing the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The organization’s latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for March-April 2024 points to a “continuing positive trend,” a dramatic fall from the early 2022 figure of nearly 23 million people, or 55% of the population, facing acute food insecurity.

This remarkable decline is a testament to the resilience of Afghanistan’s farmers and its people, improvements in climatic conditions, growing stabilization in the Afghan economy, and the “enormous” levels of humanitarian and non-humanitarian assistance, said FAO country representative Richard Trenchard.

However, he cautioned that Afghanistan “remains amongst the world’s largest food insecurity crises in absolute terms,” with more than 2 million people still facing emergency levels of food insecurity, categorized as IPC4.

Trenchard warned that the food security situation remains “extremely fragile,” particularly due to the likelihood of climate-induced and other shocks, as well as the country’s economic fragility.

He stressed the critical importance of continued investment in both humanitarian food assistance and emergency agricultural support to sustain the downward trend and address the persisting crisis.