Five years after the Taliban swept back into Kabul, Afghanistan is facing a deepening humanitarian, economic and rights crisis. An estimated 21.9 million people—about 45% of the population—will need humanitarian assistance in 2026, while more than 14 million are expected to face acute food insecurity.
The emergency is affecting households in different ways: families are struggling to find work and afford food, health services have been reduced, and girls and women have been pushed out of education, employment and much of public life. The return of millions of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran is adding pressure to housing, jobs, healthcare and schools.
A weaker economy leaves families with fewer choices
Afghanistan’s economy remains smaller and more isolated than before the Taliban takeover. The Taliban’s published budget for the 2023 fiscal year was $2.44bn, less than half the roughly $6bn budget under the previous government in 2021. The authorities also abolished the public pension system in 2024 as they sought to manage the fiscal crisis.
Unemployment has almost doubled since 2021, according to the UN, with more than half a million jobs disappearing. Inflation, which averaged 3.6% in 2025, reached 7.6% by March 2026, driven by food-price increases, supply disruptions and rising demand.
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In Kabul’s Chihil Dukhtarān neighbourhood, Malika said poverty led her and her husband to marry off their teenage daughter, Maryam, for 200,000 afghanis, or £2,270. Nearly two years later, Malika said the money was almost gone and her two youngest daughters, aged 12 and nine, were working in a clothing factory rather than attending school.
Aid cuts are reaching clinics and malnourished children
The crisis has intensified as international assistance has fallen. The United States provided more than $3bn in humanitarian and development assistance between October 2021 and December 2024, but humanitarian funding was suspended in January 2025 as part of a pause in foreign aid programmes. That source had accounted for about 45% of humanitarian support.
More than 440 health clinics have since been forced to close or reduce services because of funding shortages. The proportion of Afghans without access to healthcare rose from 16% in 2024 to 23% in 2025. The World Food Programme said earlier in 2026 that it was turning away three out of four acutely malnourished children seeking help because it lacked funds to buy food.
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The estimated 21.9 million people needing assistance in 2026 include about 11.6 million children. Some 3.5 million children under five are already suffering from acute malnutrition.
Women and girls face systematic exclusion
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from secondary schools, excluded women from universities and restricted women’s participation in the workforce and public life. Women were barred from public parks and gyms in 2022, and in 2024 the Taliban prohibited women from speaking audibly in public.
Women’s labour-force participation has fallen from about one in six before the takeover to roughly one in 20 today. Only 18% of midwives are formally employed, while nearly 80% of female journalists have been forced out of their jobs. The UN estimates that excluding women and girls from education and work is costing Afghanistan at least $84m a year.
Afghanistan no longer keeps records of child-marriage rates, and rights organisations say the economic and gender-rights crises are pushing more girls into marriage. The source material describes a new marriage law in 2026 as effectively recognising child marriage and making it harder for women to seek divorce.
Returns and regional tensions add pressure
Almost 6 million Afghans have returned from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan since 2023 after intensified crackdowns on undocumented migrants. The UN expects another 2.7 million returns between May and December 2026, increasing pressure on already limited services and employment.
Relations with Pakistan have also deteriorated. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harbouring militants from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban denies. Border clashes, airstrikes and repeated closures have killed civilians, displaced families and disrupted trade in communities dependent on cross-border movement.
At the same time, Russia has formally recognised the Taliban government and signed a military cooperation agreement. China and the United Arab Emirates have accepted Taliban-appointed ambassadors, while Taliban officials have met European Union representatives in Brussels over migration. Human rights groups have criticised engagement without progress on rights.
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