Afghanistan aid appeal just 33% funded, UN agency says

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said in its Asia and the Pacific Regional Humanitarian Overview, dated Nov. 11, that Afghanistan had received $560.7 million of the $1.71 billion requested for its humanitarian response this year.

That represents just 32.7 percent of the required funding, leaving 67.3 percent unmet.

The report estimates that 21.9 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance, with aid organizations aiming to reach 17.5 million of them through the country’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.

Afghanistan has the largest humanitarian funding requirement among the seven response plans covered in the regional overview. It also has the largest population in need of assistance.

The funding gap is particularly pronounced compared with several other humanitarian operations in the region.

Myanmar, where 16.2 million people are estimated to need assistance, has received $466.2 million of the $889.6 million requested for its 2026 humanitarian response plan, or 52.4 percent.

The Rohingya refugee response plan in Bangladesh has received $488.5 million of its $710.5 million requirement, equivalent to 68.8 percent.

Pakistan’s response plan for the 2025 monsoon floods is 61.1 percent funded, while Nepal’s 2026 flash appeal for flooding in Rasuwa is 53.6 percent funded.

Across Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations estimates that 45.5 million people need humanitarian assistance under the seven response plans, with aid organizations targeting 27.2 million people.

Humanitarian partners have requested approximately $3.6 billion to support those operations, but only $1.7 billion has been received, representing 46.1 percent of the total requirement.

Afghanistan’s appeal alone accounts for nearly half of the funding requested across the seven plans.

The figures underscore the scale of Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs and the gap between the resources aid organizations have requested and the funding available to support their response.

The regional overview does not specify which humanitarian programs in Afghanistan have been affected by the funding shortfall or how many people have been unable to receive assistance because of insufficient funding.