Afghanistan

Taliban officials in Afghanistan have informed the United Nations (UN) they are banning women from working for the organization in Afghanistan, the world organization said Tuesday about the group’s latest edict restricting the rights and movements of women in that country. The UN said Wednesday that it "condemns in the strongest terms" the Taliban's decision, calling the ban unlawful and unacceptable.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it has been forced to drastically reduce critical lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan to millions of vulnerable people due to lack of funds.  In March, at least four million Afghanis will receive just half of what they need to get by.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has briefed member states today on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and on his recent visit to the country as part of an Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) mission, stressing that women are an essential, central component of the humanitarian operation in Afghanistan

Leading international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have announced that they will suspend their humanitarian work in Afghanistan, at least temporarily. The move comes after the Taliban de facto authorities reportedly issued an order Saturday barring all female employees of national and international organizations from going to work with immediate effect.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that acute hunger in Afghanistan is no longer seasonal but a grueling daily reality for millions of people. WFP said today that two-thirds of the country’s population - or 28.3 million - will require humanitarian assistance next year, up from 24.4 million men, women and children in 2022. According to the UN agency, malnutrition in Afghanistan has reached the highest levels since records have been kept.

The humanitarian organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) has released its annual Emergency Watchlist Wednesday, highlighting the 20 countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2023.  This year, Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan top the Watchlist, as East Africa faces the worst drought in decades and economic turmoil continues to compound needs in Afghanistan.