Aid Shortfall Leaves Afghanistan Among World’s Least Funded Crises, NRC Warns

Afghan returnees load their belongings onto a military truck after arriving from Pakistan at the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province on June 24, 2026. Photo: AFP The Norwegian Refugee Council has warned that a severe shortfall in global humanitarian funding is leaving millions of people in conflict and displacement crises without enough support, with Afghanistan now listed among the world’s least funded aid responses. In a statement issued on July 1, the NRC said only 30.4 percent of the funding needed for humanitarian operations in 2026 had been received by June 24. The appeal seeks $33.66 billion to support 143.2 million people out of 252 million people in need globally, according to figures cited by the NRC from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Jan Egeland, the NRC’s secretary general, said 2026 had become a critical year for millions of people affected by war, displacement, inflation and shrinking aid budgets. “Families whose lives have been shattered by conflict are increasingly struggling to survive,” Egeland said. “Violence and displacement continue unabated, while spiralling inflation puts basic goods out of reach, all at a time when aid is declining due to a lack of funding.” The NRC said some of the world’s most neglected displacement crises are facing especially low levels of support. It identified Yemen, Niger, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan and Mali as the lowest funded humanitarian responses so far this year. Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs and response plan is only 16.9 percent funded, according to the NRC, which cited OCHA data. The country has 21.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2026, with 17.5 million targeted for support. The aid group said Afghanistan’s funding decline comes as millions of Afghans return from neighbouring countries, placing additional pressure on already strained communities and services. Citing the International Organization for Migration, NRC said only 11 percent of adults among surveyed undocumented returnees were fully employed after return. “This year for the first time Afghanistan features on NRC’s list of the world’s most neglected crises,” Egeland said. “Now we are seeing funding for Afghanistan hit record low levels with just one in every six dollars needed for aid currently available.” The NRC also attributed the decline partly to the end of U.S. humanitarian support to Afghanistan, saying Washington had previously contributed more than 40 percent of all aid to the country up to 2024. That claim should be reviewed against current OCHA donor data before publication. Momina, a 45-year-old mother of six from Nangarhar province, told the NRC that living conditions had worsened over the past two years as work and assistance declined. “My husband used to work from time-to-time and humanitarian organisations also used to come in this area to assist us,” she said. “Now, we don’t see much of that assistance, and my husband is unemployed and most days is unable to get work.” The NRC said countries in the Central Sahel are also among the hardest hit by funding shortages, with Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali making up three of the five least funded plans in 2026. The organisation said the region is facing displacement, worsening protection conditions and weakening basic services as both humanitarian and development financing decline. Egeland urged donor governments to allocate funding according to humanitarian need rather than geopolitical priorities. “Without a dramatic increase of support, countless communities in need of aid will have little chance of being helped this year,” he said. The post Aid Shortfall Leaves Afghanistan Among World’s Least Funded Crises, NRC Warns appeared first on Khaama Press.