Afghanistan
Decades of war, civil unrest and natural disasters have taken a huge toll on Afghanistan. Despite recent progress, millions of Afghans still live in severe poverty, with a crumbling infrastructure and a landscape suffering from environmental damage.
Around 39 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line, with huge differences in living standards between those living in cities and those in rural areas. The country has some of the world’s highest infant, child and maternal mortality rates, and many thousands of children die needlessly each year because they lack access to adequate food and nutrition. Around 41 percent of Afghan children under the age of five are stunted, with low height for their age, while 10 percent are acutely malnourished.
What the World Food Programme is doing in Afghanistan
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School meals
The school meals programme helps the government of Afghanistan to improve the gender gap, school enrolment rate and students’ attendance levels. In 2016, WFP gave more than 255,000 students a take-home ration of fortified vegetable oil as an incentive for their families to send them to school.
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Emergency response
WFP assists returnees, internally displaced people, refugees and people affected by conflict, disasters or severe seasonal food insecurity. In 2016, WFP provided over 1.2 million people with emergency food assistance.
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Food for training
To improve employment opportunities in urban areas, WFP provides food insecure people, and especially women and unemployed young men, with training to acquire new, marketable skills and improve literacy so they can earn a better living. Training areas include handicraft making, carpentry, plumbing and others.
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Disaster risk reduction
Under its disaster risk reduction activities, WFP continues to help build resilience at the community level by supporting the construction or rehabilitation of key infrastructure, including roads, canals, flood protection walls and terracing. In 2016, more than 500,000 people received WFP food assistance through its assets creation activities.
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Nutrition
WFP fights undernutrition in vulnerable children under 5, pregnant women and new mothers, helping to prevent the lifelong consequences of poor nutrition in the critical early years of life. In 2015, WFP reached over 814,000 vulnerable women and children with take-home food baskets, essential micronutrient tablets and specialized nutritious food.
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Purchase for Progress
WFP helps local farmers boost production and processing capacities, as well as access to markets. WFP also works with the Ministry of Health to establish food quality and safety standards and supports national flour fortification programmes, including by providing micronutrients for private millers and training to fortify flour for commercial sale.
In focus
Afganistán news releases
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Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Afghanistan is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:Contacts
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