Taliban Takeover 1 year on: The situation is worse than ever and people with disabilities are the hardest hit

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, in August 2021, the humanitarian situation has dramatically deteriorated. 24.4 million people - 55% of the population - need humanitarian assistance (compared to 21 million in 2021 and 8 million in 2020). People with disabilities are the hardest hit by the current crisis in Afghanistan where almost 80% of the adult population lives with some form of disability. It is vital that people access humanitarian aid and rehabilitation care to prevent or limit disability. Humanity & Inclusion is one of the few organizations to provide this type of care in Afghanistan.  

Health facilities need support  

Afghanistan has one of the highest levels of explosive hazard contamination in the world and children are being disproportionately impacted. Decades of war have had an impact on the incidence of disability in Afghanistan. Due to the presence of mines and explosive remnants of war, armed conflicts and limited access to health and nutrition services, etc. some 80 percent of adults have some form of physical, functional, sensory, or other disability. The number of children and adults with a severe disability - 2.7% of the population in 2005 - increased dramatically to 13.9% of population in 2019. 

Humanity & Inclusion teams are providing life-changing rehabilitation and psychosocial support in Kandahar in one of the only two rehabilitation centers in the south of the country. 

“Since August 2021, we have seen a major increase in patient numbers at the Kandahar center. More people have been able to access the center since the fighting, roadblocks and strict security measures have ended. Now, we receive more than 100 people a week. ” says Mohammad Rasool, Humanity & inclusion’s programs coordinator in Kandahar. 

 "Afghanistan is scarred by decades of conflict and the population suffers constant shortages of basic services. Healthcare and hospital facilities need to be supported. We must ensure vulnerable people receive the care they need. If a or an injured person is no longer able to receive treatment at a health center, they become even more vulnerable. For the last months, we have increased our rehabilitation services to meet the needs of an increasing number of patients," says Julio Cesar Ortiz Arguedas, Humanity & Inclusion's director in Afghanistan.  

Poverty and access to food 

Almost 19 million people in Afghanistan – nearly half of the population – are estimated to be acutely food insecure between June and November 2022 and 1.1 million children are acutely malnourished. More and more people, particularly in urban areas, cannot buy food due to cash shortages and soaring prices, unemployment rise and unpaid salaries, which are the main driven of the current crisis.  By the middle of 2022, Afghanistan could face “universal poverty,” with 90% of Afghans living below the poverty line ($1.90 a day).  

“Since March, we have launched cash distributions for 1,700 of the most vulnerable families in Kunduz and Herat for 3 to 6 months. We mainly support families with a or older member, as they are the most at risk of being left behind by humanitarian assistance. The money will be used by families to buy food and to access basic services, like going to the doctor. They will have the choice to address their essential needs, while the cash will also help to boost local businesses and economies. The families we targeted are already extremely poor families, often with at least one member with a disability, whom the current crisis has put in a hopeless situation”, says Julio Cesar Ortiz Arguedas. 

Notes 

- Interview available upon request with Humanity & Inclusion experts based in Afghanistan

 About Humanity & Inclusion in Afghanistan 

Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial international aid organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Our organization has worked in Afghanistan since 1987 and has developed a special expertise in this country where we strive to improve the daily lives of people with disabilities.  
Humanity & Inclusion set up the Kandahar rehabilitation center in 1996 and has supported it continuously ever since. It is one of the only rehabilitation centers in the south of the country. HI’s mobile rehabilitation teams also visit homes in isolated rural areas with no access to health facilities. Humanity & Inclusion also provides psychosocial support to people in need, victim assistance, mine risk education, and assists people affected by Covid-19.