When the Headlines Fade

For much of 2021, Afghanistan dominated international headlines. The Taliban’s return to power prompted urgent diplomatic discussions, widespread media coverage, and promises that the international community would not abandon the Afghan people. Almost five years later, global attention has shifted elsewhere. Conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and the recent confrontation between the United States and Iran now dominate the news cycle. Yet for millions of Afghans, the quality of life continues to decline while a dire humanitarian emergency has emerged. Widespread food insecurity, chronic poverty, limited access to healthcare, large-scale displacement, and growing humanitarian needs continue to shape the daily lives of millions.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy is not only that Afghanistan remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, but that the world has gradually begun to accept this suffering as the new normal.

Afghanistan’s Crisis

Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises. More than 21.9 million people require humanitarian assistance in 2026, meaning that almost half the population depends on emergency support for healthcare, safe drinking water, shelter, and food aid for daily survival.

Food insecurity has become one of the defining features of the crisis. An estimated 13.78 million people are facing severe food shortages and the risk of starvation, leaving millions uncertain about where their next meal will come from. Children continue to bear the greatest burden, with 3.7 million under the age of five suffering from malnutrition. For many families, the struggle is no longer about improving living standards, but about securing enough food to survive.

The healthcare system is under equally severe strain. Millions of Afghans lack reliable access to healthcare, clean water, and adequate sanitation, increasing their vulnerability to preventable disease. Sanitation conditions remain especially alarming, with an estimated 25 per cent of households relying on unimproved water sources and 37 per cent lacking soap for basic hygiene. These conditions have left communities increasingly exposed to outbreaks of measles, polio, malaria, and dengue fever, placing further pressure on an already overstretched health system.

This humanitarian crisis points to the gradual erosion of the basic conditions required for everyday life.

Underfunded and Unresolved

For much of the past two decades, Afghanistan was one of the world’s largest recipients of international aid, receiving around US$4 billion annually to support essential public services and humanitarian programmes. However, the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 fundamentally altered the international response. Reluctant to engage with or financially support the new government, many donors, including the United States and the European Union suspended long-term development assistance. While these political considerations were shaped by concerns over legitimising the Taliban, they also had profound humanitarian consequences. By 2025, what remained in aid to Afghanistan had fallen by a staggering 16.5 per cent, forcing organisations to scale back operations, reduce essential services, and reach fewer of the country’s most vulnerable communities.

This reduction in funding came at precisely the moment humanitarian assistance had become more essential than ever. Many of Afghanistan’s essential services had become heavily reliant on external support following years of conflict, state fragility, and sustained international assistance. When development assistance was withdrawn following the Taliban’s return to power, humanitarian organisations were expected to fill an ever-growing gap, despite facing shrinking financial resources themselves. The result was an humanitarian response that was increasingly unable to keep pace with the scale of need.

Healthcare has been particularly affected. Funding shortages have forced more than 440 health clinics to close or significantly reduce their services, while restrictions on female healthcare workers have further constrained access to care. The proportion of Afghans unable to access healthcare consequently rose from 16 per cent in 2024 to 23 per cent in 2025, disrupting vaccination campaigns, reducing access to maternal healthcare, and life-saving medical services.

Women have borne a disproportionate share of these consequences. The withdrawal of United States funding in 2025 particularly affected maternal and child healthcare, sexual and reproductive health services, and programmes addressing gender-based violence. When combined with Taliban restrictions on women’s participation in public life, these reductions have left many women with fewer opportunities to access essential healthcare and protection services.

The situation now presents a fundamental contradiction. Humanitarian assistance has never been more necessary, while the resources available to deliver it have continued to shrink. The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requires US$1.7 billion to provide life-saving assistance to Afghanistan people, yet the humanitarian response continues to operate with only a fraction of the funding required. Unless international support is restored, the gap between humanitarian need and humanitarian capacity will continue to widen, leaving millions of Afghans to bear the consequences of political decisions over which they have little control.

What comes next?

Nearly five years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has largely faded from the international agenda. Yet the humanitarian crisis persists, and it is ordinary Afghans who continue to bear the cost of declining international attention.

Political disagreements with the Taliban should not come at the expense of the Afghan people. Humanitarian assistance exists to protect civilians and should not be contingent on political recognition or diplomatic relations. The international community has continued to deliver aid in other conflicts, such as Syria and Yemen, despite deep political disagreements. Afghanistan should not be the exception.

After more than two decades of involvement and meddling within the country, the international community retains a responsibility to address the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. That responsibility cannot end simply because global attention has shifted. Humanitarian funding should be urgently restored and expanded, alongside continued political engagement to support long-term recovery. Without both, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis will persist. The Afghan people have already endured decades of conflict; they should not now bear the consequences of international disengagement.

The forthcoming Next Century Foundation Zoom Conference has a session on Afghanistan.

Image above by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay