One-third of Afghans at risk of hunger by 2027
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that 19.2 million Afghans could face hunger by April 2027 due to disasters and returns from Iran and Pakistan.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned today that approximately 19.2 million Afghans, or more than a third of the country’s population, face acute food insecurity by April 2027.
Olga Cherivko, OCHA’s spokesperson for Afghanistan, told journalists in Geneva, speaking from Kabul, that during the winter dry season, which runs from November to April, the number of people facing acute food insecurity is expected to reach 19.2 million.
Five million of these individuals are projected to experience hunger levels classified as emergency.
A significant portion of the Afghan population is grappling with a severe food crisis, following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country last year, climate-related disasters this year, and the return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data from September to October last year, 15.9 million people were, or currently are, experiencing acute food insecurity at a “Crisis” level or worse. This figure already includes 3.4 million people living in conditions that OCHA has classified as “Emergency.”
Cherivko added, “There is also concern that more than four million children aged between six months and five years will require treatment for acute malnutrition next year.”
