Afghanistan

Afghanistan is struggling to overcome the destructive legacies of multiple wars and conflict over the past three decades, with concomitant insecurity, forced displacement and violence against civilians and very limited humanitarian access. The country is also periodically subject to natural disasters including flooding, earthquakes and drought, with almost five million people reported affected by drought alone in 2000 (CRED).

Afghanistan’s already precarious human development and humanitarian indicators were further set back by the 2001 invasion and subsequent insurgency and counter-insurgency operations. Despite the levels of insecurity, five million refugees have returned to the country since 2002, increasing the population by over 20% (UNHCR).

Afghanistan has been a major humanitarian aid recipient for the last decade, but its relationship with the latter has been complex, controversial and often unpredictable.

Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan increased dramatically in the year following the US-led invasion, before falling sharply again the next year. Development aid continued to grow steadily throughout the decade, while humanitarian aid remained at relatively low levels until a major escalation in humanitarian needs in 2008 put them back on the international agenda. Despite the country receiving US$27.8 billion of official development assistance (ODA) between 2002 and 2009, the UN states that its humanitarian indicators have steadily deteriorated in recent years.