Kabul, Afghanistan, 22 July 2024 —  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the European Union (EU) have launched a new project to support the delivery of essential and life-saving assistance in underserved areas of Afghanistan.

Over the next two years, the project will focus on the rehabilitation of health facilities, and provide essential healthcare services with focus on maternal, new-born and child health, as well as mental and psycho-social support. Project activities will also focus on the detection and treatment of severe acute malnutrition through four health facilities and one mobile health and nutrition team.

This initiative follows a successful partnership from July 2022 to April 2024, during which more than 350,000 individuals received life-saving health, nutrition, protection and education services.

Marianna Franco, Head of the EU Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan, explained the severity of the situation: “Afghanistan’s crisis continues to deepen. We are facing an extremely complex emergency that remains severely underfunded and requires continued and principled support from the international community.”

Salma Ben Aissa, IRC Afghanistan Director, said, “The IRC’s collaboration with the European Union has been crucial in supporting conflict- and disaster affected populations. Such consistent humanitarian aid flows are indispensable for us to continue responding to urgent life-supporting needs. We are dedicated to helping the citizens of Afghanistan and urge donors to help contribute to the pressing needs of this deepening crisis.”

Background

Four decades of conflict, in combination with economic collapse and a heightened susceptibility to extreme weather events, have left over half of Afghanistan’s population—a staggering 23.7 million people—in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

Climate change has contributed to increasingly harsh winters and the worst drought in three decades in Afghanistan. Over 14.2 million people are acutely food insecure, and malnutrition rates are skyrocketing. Among the groups most at risk of starvation are infants and children under five, pregnant and lactating women, as well as people above 50 years of age.

In addition, heavy rainfall and flash flooding have affected over 119,000 people across 32 provinces since March and killed over 300. Over 8,000 homes have also been damaged or destroyed, as well as over 60,000 acres of agricultural land left in ruins. This devastation includes bridges, buildings, and various infrastructures essential to providing vital aid deliveries to different needful regions of the country.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been committed to working in Afghanistan since 1988, and with the help of the European Union (EU) has provided indispensable aid to Afghan populations. However, the humanitarian appeal continues to call for critically necessary assistance for emergency food initiatives and efforts to build the resilience of the population of Afghanistan.

Through the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations of the European Commission, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.