Sustaining Support for Afghanistan Amid Deepening and Intersecting Crises

A deepening protection crisis driven by systemic restrictions, forced returns and climate shocks

One of the world’s most acute and complex protection crises is unfolding in Afghanistan, with overlapping drivers compounding the scale and severity of humanitarian needs. At its core is a system of gender-based restrictions that profoundly limits women’s and girls’ access to education, employment, public participation and essential services. These restrictions have eroded the coping capacity of half the population and sharply constrained the ability of humanitarian actors to deliver principled and inclusive assistance. The ban on secondary and tertiary education for girls, the prohibition on women working in key sectors and the continued limitations on female humanitarian aid workers have all contributed to mounting protection risks. In this already fragile environment, geopolitical tensions and regional instability are an additional strain.

At the same time, Afghanistan is experiencing one of the largest waves of returns in recent history. In the past two years, around 5 million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries, amounting to roughly a 10 per cent increase in the population. In 2025 alone, 2.8 million Afghans returned – the highest annual figure in recent years. Many arrived under duress, without documentation, assets or established networks, heightening the pressure on already overstretched services, particularly in border provinces and major urban centres.

Afghanistan is also contending with overlapping climate-related disasters. Years of drought have depleted groundwater, devastated rangelands and weakened agricultural systems, while recurrent floods, landslides and earthquakes continue to destroy homes, livelihoods and critical infrastructure. These environmental shocks intersect with socioeconomic fragilities: more than 70 per cent of households report insufficient food consumption, and many rely on crisis-level coping mechanisms such as the sale of productive assets, early marriage or reduced access to health and education.

Combined, these factors constitute a multilayered protection crisis that leaves millions exposed to severe deprivation. While the humanitarian community continues to deliver life-saving support – reaching more than 17 million people in 2025 alone – the scale of need is outpacing available resources, and the interconnected nature of the crisis demands a strategic, multi-year approach that integrates humanitarian response with strengthened service delivery and resilience-building.

A strategic transition from humanitarian relief to basic human needs assistance to strengthen resilience

Recognizing the protracted nature of the crisis in Afghanistan, the United Nations has adopted an approach that balances urgent humanitarian interventions with the sustained delivery of basic human needs (BHN) assistance. This approach reflects a strategic transition – moving beyond short-term emergency response towards stabilizing essential services and creating livelihood opportunities.

Under the United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan (UNSFA, 2023–2027), BHN programming aims to keep essential services functioning for millions of Afghans who depend on external support for access to healthcare, education, water and sanitation, protection services and social protection. Delivered through partnerships with United Nations entities, non-governmental organization (NGOs) and international financial institutions, the BHN approach ensures that clinics remain operational, community-based education continues for girls and boys, safe water systems are maintained, and vulnerable households have access to predictable safety nets and livelihood opportunities.

While humanitarian aid addresses immediate life-saving needs, BHN programming supports communities’ ability to withstand recurring shocks by stabilizing the systems that sustain daily life. For example, in 2025, sustained investments in primary healthcare enabled more than 34 million people to access essential services, while community-based education programmes supported learning for 4.6 million children, many of whom would otherwise be excluded from formal schooling.

A case in point is the integration of a durable solutions approach that moves beyond emergency assistance towards sustainable reintegration, livelihoods and social cohesion. This is increasingly important as large-scale returns from Iran and Pakistan place unprecedented pressure on already fragile communities and essential services.

Through the durable solutions approach, United Nations and NGO partners reached displacement-affected populations across 33 of 34 provinces in 2025, supporting returnees, internally displaced people and vulnerable host communities through both targeted and community-wide interventions.

Shrinking global assistance and increasing emergencies are lowering Afghanistan on donor priority lists, reinforcing the need for stronger cross-pillar coordination

The global humanitarian landscape is shifting rapidly. With multiple large-scale crises competing for limited donor attention, Afghanistan is increasingly falling down the list of prioritized contexts. The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan received only 42 per cent of its required funding, forcing humanitarian partners to reduce geographic coverage, limit programming and tighten targeting to only the most acute needs.

In such a constrained funding environment, neither humanitarian assistance nor BHN systems alone can meet the scale of needs. As a result, the United Nations and partners are intensifying efforts to strengthen cross-pillar coordination. A comprehensive coordination architecture review has been underway since early 2025 with the objective of increasing efficiency, accountability and impact, while strengthening cross-pillar collaboration with humanitarian and BHN partners and structures and increasing cost-effectiveness.

The new architecture is aimed at strengthening interfaces among humanitarian and BHN partners to create a shared understanding, improve complementarity and support joint analysis and planning, while maintaining their distinct responses based on different mandates.

In this regard, the architecture is positioned to evolve by building on existing structures, capacities and resources; strengthening NGO inclusiveness, including in coordination leadership roles; and adaptation based on regular review and learning. It also reinforces area-based coordination to maximize impact and reduce duplication.

Area-based coordination has proven particularly effective in districts experiencing high numbers of returnees or severe climate shocks, where needs are multidimensional and where communities require both immediate and systemic support. By focusing on geographic convergence and cross-sector collaboration, these approaches help address the drivers of chronic vulnerability more effectively than isolated interventions.

However, sustained international solidarity remains indispensable. Even with improved coordination and more efficient programming, the ability of the United Nations and partners to deliver life-saving humanitarian support and maintain essential BHN services depends on predictable, multi-year financing. Without it, health centres risk closing, education support may diminish, water systems could falter and vulnerable households may lose access to basic income support – deepening fragility and reversing hard-won gains.

Conclusion

Afghanistan stands at the intersection of a severe protection crisis, persistent humanitarian needs and declining international attention. Yet the commitment of humanitarian and development actors on the ground remains steadfast. Through a strategic transition that links humanitarian assistance with the sustained provision of essential services, and through strengthened cross-pillar coordination, the United Nations and its partners are working to preserve human dignity, protect the most vulnerable and support communities’ resilience in the face of compounding shocks.

Continued global engagement, and renewed donor commitment, will determine whether the basic systems that millions depend on each day can be sustained in Afghanistan. In a context shaped by a spike in returns, regional border disruptions and wider geopolitical tensions, this support is not just a lifeline; it is the foundation for a more stable and hopeful future.