【Afghanistan】Food Crisis Response: Expanding Our Support Areas and Launching Operations

In Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, the food crisis has worsened since September 2023 due to a surge in returnees from Pakistan and Iran. In particular, households headed by women without working members, and households headed by persons with disabilities who have become less able to access support—due to changes in welfare policies for persons with disabilities following the 2021 political upheaval, which reduced assistance for persons with disabilities who are not Taliban members—are facing even greater economic hardship and a severe food crisis.

In response to this situation, Peace Winds launched a new project in Kuz Kunar District, Nangarhar Province—an area with a high concentration of returnees and significant support needs—combining food assistance with poultry rearing support. This initiative targets female-headed households, households headed by persons with disabilities, and returnee households to improve food access and build long-term livelihoods. This initiative builds upon the success of last spring’s one-year cash-based food assistance and poultry rearing support for vulnerable households in Kot and Bati Kot districts within the same province, expanding the support area.

The food assistance component distributes food to ensure basic survival. The poultry rearing support provides an initial starter kit for poultry farming, including chickens, feed, and materials for chicken coops, along with training on poultry rearing techniques and knowledge, and ongoing support for continued poultry rearing. Poultry rearing is a low-cost activity that can be undertaken at home, making it accessible to women who often face constraints on working outside the home. Eggs from the chickens not only contribute to the household food supply, but selling any surplus can also help stabilize the household income.

Particularly in households where female heads of household or persons with disabilities support their families, insufficient food often leads to further health and economic hardships. In households enduring extreme hunger, situations frequently arise where people, unable to withstand their hunger, resort to eating the chickens they are raising for eggs. Through the combination of food assistance and poultry rearing support, we aim to help households secure a minimum food supply. Furthermore, by establishing a cycle where they earn income from selling surplus eggs collected from distributed chickens and use some of those eggs for hatching to continue poultry rearing, we strive to provide the first step for households to escape harsh living conditions and achieve economically self-sustaining lives.

We hope this initiative brings stable livelihoods to struggling households in Afghanistan, particularly those headed by women or persons with disabilities, and to returnee communities.

We sincerely appreciate your continued warm support.

*This project is made possible by grants from the Japan Platform and your generous contributions.