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2018 IN REVIEW

This Annual Report presents information on the achievements of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund during the 2018 calendar year. However, because grant allocation, project implementation and reporting processes often take place over multiple years (CBPFs are designed to support ongoing and evolving humanitarian responses), the achievement of CBPFs are reported in distinct ways:

This Annual Report presents information on the achievements of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund during the 2018 calendar year. However, because grant allocation, project implementation and reporting processes often take place over multiple years (CBPFs are designed to support ongoing and evolving humanitarian responses), the achievement of CBPFs are reported in distinct ways:

1. Information on 2018 allocations is shown in blue colour, indicating the intended impact of allocations, rather than achieved results. Since project implementation and reporting often continues into the subsequent year, final result information is often not available at the time of publication of CBPF annual reports.

2. Results reported in 2018 may originate from allocations launched in 2017 and prior years (shown in orange).

3. Data used in this report has been extracted from final narrative reports between 1 January 2018 – 31 January 2019.

4. Duplications were removed from data by applying HRP duplications removal method.

5. Contribution recorded based on the exchange rate when the cash was received which may differ from the Certified Statement of Accounts that records contributions based on the exchange rate at the time of the pledge.

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Armed Conflict and Protection of Civilians

Ongoing armed conflict continued to drive humanitarian needs across Afghanistan, inflicting the world’s highest levels of civilian casualties and the destruction critical public infrastructure.
The first nine months of 2018 registered a 46 per cent increase in the number of civilian casualties from suicide attacks; a 39 per cent increase in civilian casualties and a 153 per cent increase in aid workers killed or injured compared to the same period of the previous year. Large-scale military operations and indiscriminate use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) caused extreme levels of physical and psychological harm to civilians. 2018 was the fifth consecutive year with over 10,000 civilian casualties. Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights occur frequently, and the protection of civilians was a key priority for humanitarians also in 2018.

Prolonged drought conditions

Severe drought affected more than two-thirds of Afghanistan, devastated the agricultural sector and left some four million people across the worst-affected provinces in dire need of life-saving humanitarian assistance.

Population Displacement and Returns

People continued to use mobility, often as the only coping strategy, trying to evade a range of conflict, protection and livelihoods related risks and hazards. Though the number of people displaced due to conflict initially declined, the effects of the drought contributed to a significant increase of displacement.

An estimated 263,000 people were displaced in the provinces of Badghis and Hirat alone, resulting in the establishment of 19 informal settlements. While immediate humanitarian assistance remained critical such as safeguarding lives and protection needs of IDPs and returnees, both groups often required longerterm and significant development assistance. Lack of basic services, socio-economic pressure and inter-communal tensions created inequalities and resulted in secondary displacement.

Cross-border Influx

Returns from Iran accelerated to an estimated 670,000 and reached unprecedented levels. In contrast, returns from Pakistan were at an estimated 43,000 and thereby an all-time low.

Access to Basic and Essential Services

Active armed conflict, large-scale population movements, and limited livelihood options continued to impact on the provision of essential services, particularly for health and education. Forced closure of schools, health services, attacks against health workers and destruction of facilities and assets increased in terms of both frequency and severity. While reduced access to basic services affected all parts of the population, internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnees were particularly impacted.

Desease Outbreaks

Access to the National Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) and Essential Package of Hospital Services (EPHS) remained uneven across the country. Surveys revealed imbalances across socio-economic levels, a clear urban/rural divide and high out-ofpocket expenditures for the majority of the population. Population displacement further increased the number of disease outbreaks, including viral hepatitis, diarrhoea, measles and Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).

Security and Access Constraints

Security-related constraints posed significant challenges to the delivery of both humanitarian and development assistance across Afghanistan. AHF partners experienced an increasing range of challenges for example in terms of their ability to move goods and personnel, and various types of requirements imposed by both state- and non-state actors. The continuous development of context-sensitive strategies and project design became a key requirement for all implementing partners.

Operational Capacity

The number of partners implementing AHF projects across Afghanistan increased in 2018. However, additional measures were and continue to be required to extend the presence of partners particularly to hard-to-reach locations where humanitarian needs are increasing.

Humanitarian Response Plan

The humanitarian response during the first half of the year was hampered by underfunding and insecurity. The Humanitarian Country Team has agreed to revise the HRP in July 2018 based on situational analysis which show that the country is now experiencing a drought. The revised HRP included drought related requirements.

• 6.6M People in need
• 5.2M People targeted
• $599M Funding requirement