Climate Change, Food

Security and Conflict

Observations from Afghanistan

Sharifullah Wahdati

Afghanistan Institute of Nutrition

and Home Economics
Shahrak-e-Sabz Camp for IDPs on the outskirts of Herat City
Photo Credit: National Geographic February 2020
Afghanistan Data
• Landlocked country
• Population: 38.9 million
• GDP per capita: $517
• HDI Value and Ranking: 0.511, ranked
169/189, categorized as low human
development category
• Poverty Line: 72 percent
• Agriculture is the main source of livelihood
for approximately 80 percent of the
population
World Bank/UNDP, 2020-21
In Afghanistan, climate change is compounding conflict putting millions of
people in extreme food insecurity and a malnutrition crisis
Highlights;
➢ 4 decades of active conflict, the recent political transition and
mass evacuation from the country

➢ 6th most affected country by climate change (Global Climate

Risk Index 2021)

➢ 72 percent of the population currently live under poverty, this

figure may go up to 97 percent by mid 2022 (UNDP
Afghanistan)

➢ 55 percent of the population in crisis or emergency level of

food insecurity (UN IPC Report October 2021)

➢ 3.2 million children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, 1

Food Distribution in Kandahar
million of these children are at risk of dying Photo Credit: WFP October 2021

➢ COVID-19 has further worsened the food insecurity in

Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Conflict and its Impact
• A crippling and aid dependent economy
with limited livelihood opportunities for
vulnerable people, especially in rural
settings
• Migration and loss of human capital
• High poverty, food insecurity and
malnutrition, poor health and education
outcomes
• Poor infrastructure and destruction of
irrigation networks
• High dependency on emergency
interventions instead of sustainable
development
• IDPs and refugee crisis - recent mass
evacuations Photo Credit: REUTERS/Tim Wimborne
Climate Change in Afghanistan
• 6th most affected country by climate
change (Global Climate Risk Index
2021)
• Impact on livelihoods – disturbances
in agriculture and pastoralism, food
supplies and access to fresh water.
• More frequent droughts and floods,
the 2018 drought affected 2/3 of the
population and 300,000 people were
internally displaced.
• Afghanistan Climate Change Strategy
and Action Plan – on hold due to the
political transition
A family leaves their home because of drought in Badghis province.
Photo: Hoshang Hashimi/AFP, October 2021
Food insecurity and its drivers in Afghanistan
➢Drought conditions disrupting food
production
➢Lack of employment/income, ongoing
financial crisis
➢Political instability impacting food trade and
business
➢Inflation in food commodities
➢Conflict-induced internal displacement
➢Poor infrastructure for transportation of food
supplies

IPC Food Insecurity Report 2021

Future Development Prospects and Achieving
the SDGs in Afghanistan
➢Multi-sectoral developmental approaches to tackle the issues of climate
change, food insecurity and malnutrition through integrated interventions
➢Scalable, context-based and cost-effective interventions
➢Stronger engagement and collaboration amongst development partners
on aligning activities based on the SDGs agenda and avoiding duplication
of work
➢The need for national capacity, research, data and evidence from
Afghanistan to inform the design and decision-making around these
initiatives
➢Strong monitoring and evaluation, and accountability mechanisms