The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Norway has contributed 15 million
Norwegian kroner, or about $1.63 million, to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund
as the United Nations warns that millions of Afghans need assistance but the
humanitarian response remains severely underfunded.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, or OCHA, said on X that the Norwegian contribution would help sustain
humanitarian assistance for people in need across Afghanistan.
The contribution comes as 21.9 million people — about 45% of
Afghanistan’s population — are expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2026,
according to the U.N.’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. Humanitarian
agencies are seeking to provide assistance to 17.5 million people through a
response requiring $1.71 billion.
But the response faces a major funding gap. As of Aug. 26,
the U.N. had received only $509.3 million, or 29.7% of the total requirement,
leaving about $1.2 billion still unfunded, OCHA said.
The U.N. plan says Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs are
being driven by widespread poverty and food insecurity, climate-related shocks,
recurrent disease outbreaks, natural disasters and protection concerns.