FCDO Minister (): Today I am updating the
House on UK efforts to support those most in need in Afghanistan.
The situation continues to matter to the UK due to both the
terrible humanitarian and human rights situation, in particular
its impact on women and girls, and national security concerns
given risks related to terrorism and irregular migration.
Afghanistan remains one of the world's largest humanitarian
crises, with 23 million people in need of humanitarian assistance
in 2025. Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of this
crisis due to systematic Taliban oppression. The challenging
global context for aid financing means that the most vulnerable
people in Afghanistan risk not receiving assistance that they
desperately need. Over 298 nutrition centres and 420 health
facilities have closed this year, jeopardising access to
lifesaving assistance for over 3 million people including
pregnant mothers, infants and young children. The World Food
Programme currently project having enough funding to cover just
10 per cent of the 12.6 million people assessed to be food
insecure this year. Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Afghans
continue to return from Iran and Pakistan into a context where
the economy remains stagnant and access to essential services and
jobs is limited.
The UK government continues to play a leading role in supporting
the people of Afghanistan in this challenging context.
Afghanistan remains one of the FCDO's largest bilateral aid
programmes. In financial year 2024-25, we allocated £171 million
to provide vital support for vulnerable people. In 2023-24 we
reached 2.7 million people with humanitarian assistance,
including over 1.3 million women.
Despite an increasingly complex operating context, our
independent monitoring shows that our assistance continues to
reach vulnerable people, including women and girls. The UK
government remains committed that at least 50% of people reached
by UK aid are women and girls. Our results for financial year
2024-25 will be published in the summer.
We have adapted how we work to ensure we are providing early,
flexible funding to partners to sustain lifesaving activities
while moving to an approach which can also support essential
services and livelihoods for the Afghan people in the
medium-term. We have pivoted our portfolio towards lifesaving
health services and malnutrition treatment and prevention for
mothers and their young children. We are engaging with other
donors and the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to protect
health system capacity, including routine childhood immunisation
and surveillance systems. As the 6th most vulnerable
country to the impacts of climate change, climate adaptation will
be critical to addressing Afghanistan's food crisis. We are
launching new programming supporting Afghans to grow their own
food, strengthen their resilience to climate shocks and water
stress, improve their livelihoods, and reduce dependence on
emergency aid.
Alongside our funding, we are using our technical and diplomatic
capacity to shape and strengthen the international response and
protect operating space for partners. We are leading a dialogue
bringing together key partners and donors to strengthen our
collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition
in Afghanistan. We lobby the Taliban on aid and human rights
issues and speak directly with Afghans and civil society to
inform our policy and programming. We also carry out visits to
Afghanistan to see UK-funded projects first-hand. We continue to
use our representation to the World Bank and Asian Development
Bank to lobby for increased coherence and prioritisation of these
essential funding streams.
We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's abhorrent policies
towards women and girls and remain united with the international
community in our firm opposition to continued restrictions.
Upholding human rights and gender equality is not only a moral
imperative but also essential for building a stable, inclusive
and prosperous country for all Afghans.
On 20 January, I convened a meeting in New York with senior
representatives from the UN and influential countries to
underline the importance of collectively addressing Afghanistan's
challenges together. On 28 January, I hosted a roundtable with
country representatives from WFP and UNFPA to discuss the
gendered impacts of the crisis in Afghanistan. At the UN in New
York on 12 March, the UK's Special Envoy for Women and Girls,
Baroness jointly hosted an event
reiterating support for girls' education in Afghanistan with the
UAE, Norway, and UN Women.
In a renewed commitment to the people of Afghanistan, Mr Richard
Lindsay has [today] been appointed as Special Envoy to
Afghanistan. Mr Lindsay will lead a new Afghanistan department
from the UK, taking on the duties of the current Chargé
d'Affaires whose assignment concludes at the end of this month.
The UK Mission to Afghanistan in Doha will close on 30 June 2025.
This new model will allow the UK to actively engage with a
broader range of Afghans beyond Doha, particularly those calling
for peaceful political change towards a more inclusive political
settlement. Our resolve to support the people of Afghanistan for
the long term is unwavering.
