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Rahimullah sells socks from his shopping cart 10 hours a day in Eastern District kabulearning about 4.5 to 6 US dollars per day. Although the money is meager, it is all he needs to support his family of five.
Rahimullah likes many people Afghan Going by only one name, he is one of millions of Afghans who rely on humanitarian aid from Afghan authorities and international charities to survive. An estimated 22.9 million people – nearly half of the population – are expected to need assistance by 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in an article on its website on Monday.
But deep cuts in international aid — including the end of U.S. aid to programs such as food distribution for the U.N. World Food Program — have cut off that lifeline.
The World Food Program warned last week that more than 17 million people in Afghanistan now face a crisis of hunger during the winter, 3 million more than those who faced hunger more than a year ago.
The sharp aid cuts come as Afghanistan is hit by economic woes, recurring droughts, two deadly earthquakes and an influx of Afghan refugees expelled by countries including Iran and Pakistan. The resulting multiple shocks put severe pressure on resources such as housing and food.
United Nations appeals for help
Tom FletcherThe U.N. humanitarian chief told the Security Council in mid-December that the situation was complicated by “overlapping shocks,” including recent earthquakes and increasing restrictions on humanitarian access and personnel.
While Fletcher said nearly 22 million Afghans will need U.N. assistance by 2026, his organization will focus on the 3.9 million people who face the most urgent life-saving help due to declining donations.
Fletcher said this winter was “the first time in many years that there will be virtually no international food distribution.”
“As a result, only about 1 million of the most vulnerable people will receive food assistance during the 2025 lean season,” he said, compared with 5.6 million last year.
This has been a devastating year for U.N. humanitarian organizations, which have had to cut thousands of jobs and spending following aid cuts.
“We are grateful to everyone who continues to support Afghanistan. But as we look ahead to 2026, we face the risk of further contractions in life-saving assistance – at a time when food insecurity, health needs, pressures on essential services and protection risks are all rising,” Fletcher said.
returned refugees
The return of millions of refugees is adding pressure to an already shaky system. Refugee and Repatriation Minister Abdul Kabir said on Sunday that 7.1 million Afghan refugees had returned to the country in the past four years, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
Rahimullah, 29, is one of them. The former Afghan army soldier fled to neighboring Pakistan after the Taliban seized power in 2021. Two years later, he was deported back to Afghanistan and initially received aid in the form of cash and food.
“It helped me a lot,” he said. But without it, “right now I don’t have enough money to live on. God forbid, if I faced a serious illness or any other problem, it would be difficult for me to cope because I wouldn’t have any extra money to spend.”
The influx of former refugees has also caused rents to skyrocket. Rahimulla’s landlord has nearly doubled the rent on his small two-bedroom house, with walls half concrete and half earth and a homemade tandoor for cooking. He now wants 8,000 afghanis (about $120) instead of 4,500 afghanis (about $67) – money that Rahimullah cannot afford. So he, his wife, daughter and two young sons must move next month. They don’t know where to go.
Before the Taliban took over, Rahimullah had a decent salary and his wife was a teacher. But the new government’s tough restrictions on women and girls meant women were banned from almost all jobs, and his wife lost her job.
“The situation now is that even if we find money to buy flour, we don’t have money to buy oil, and even if we find oil, we can’t pay the rent. There is also the additional electricity bill,” Rahimullah said.
Harsh winter adds to misery
In Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province, Sherrin Gul fell into despair. In 2023, her family of 12 received supplies of flour, oil, rice, beans, salt and biscuits. This is a lifesaver.
But that only lasted six months. Now, there is nothing. She said her husband was old and frail and unable to work. She has 10 children, 7 girls and 3 boys, aged between 7 and 27, and the burden of supporting the family falls on her 23-year-old son, the only one old enough to work. But even he could only find work occasionally.
“There are 12 of us … one person working can’t pay the bills,” she said. “We’re in big trouble.”
Sometimes neighbors would take pity on them and give them food. Often, they starve.
“Sometimes we don’t have anything to eat at night and my children fall asleep without food,” Gur said. “I just gave them green tea and they cried themselves to sleep.”
Before the Taliban took over, Gul worked as a cleaner and earned just enough to support his family. But banning women from working left her without a job, and she said she suffered from a nervous disorder and was often sick.
Their misery is compounded by the harsh winter conditions in northern Afghanistan, where heavy snowfall halts construction work where her son sometimes finds work. There is also an additional cost for firewood and charcoal.
“If this continues, we could face severe hunger,” Gur said. “Then it will be difficult for us to survive in this cold weather.”
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AP writer Farnoush Amiri United NationsJamey Keaten in Geneva and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report.