Source: United Nations (video statements)
Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said, “Nearly 22 million people will continue to require humanitarian help in 2026, third only to Sudan and Yemen in scale. Our ask is $1.7 billion to target 17.5 million people. We have further hyper-prioritized our plan to target 3.9 million people in most urgent need.”
He added, “For the first time in four years the number of people facing hunger has gone up—now reaching 17.4 million people. And essential services – already insufficient and uneven across the country – are stretched to breaking point as Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan in record numbers. Over 2.6 million Afghans returned in 2025.”
He highlighted, “Increasing human rights restrictions – particularly on Afghan women staff – have made life for many Afghans ever more difficult, and created additional burdens on the implementation of our operations.”