Plagued by a severe funding shortfall, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has warned that with winter rapidly approaching, the outlook for at least 25,000 Afghan families in Herat is bleak as they still lack adequate shelter a year after deadly earthquakes struck the province.

On October 7, 11 and 15 of last year, massive earthquakes hit the province, leaving over 275,000 people in urgent need of assistance.

The three 6.3 magnitude earthquakes devastated 382 villages, resulted in the death of 1,480 people and injured nearly 2,000 others.

Homes, health centers, schools and essential infrastructure were destroyed in an instant, further exacerbating the vulnerability of communities already grappling with the aftermath of decades of conflict and economic hardship.

While assistance was mobilized quickly, the challenges remain significant as many families continue to struggle in the wake of the earthquakes and have found it hard to recover – both psychologically and materially.

One such family is led by Tahmina, a 25-year-old mother from one of the worst-affected villages in Herat.

The earthquakes claimed the lives of fourteen members of her family, including her parents, siblings and younger relatives. Her children remain traumatized by the events, with one unable to laugh or walk since that tragic day.

Tahmina’s story reflects the difficulties faced by countless other Afghan families who were also affected by the earthquakes.

However, a severe funding shortfall is posing major challenges to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), which has helped drive the humanitarian assistance process in Herat and across Afghanistan.

In a report published this week, UNOCHA said Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) faces a severe funding shortfall, having received only $961.7 million - 31.4 percent of the $3.06 billion required.

This $2.09 billion funding gap threatens essential aid programmes as humanitarian needs remain acute.

The agency also reported that from July to September, widespread flash floods impacted more than 18,900 people across 14 provinces, damaging homes, livestock and agricultural assets, which are vital resources for food security.

“Additionally, since January 2024, cross-border returns have surged, with over 1.1 million Afghans returning from Iran and Pakistan - 243,000 from Pakistan and 825,000 from Iran - adding further strain on limited resources,” the report read.

UNOCHA stated that the critical funding gap of $2.09 billion includes an urgent $1.09 billion shortfall in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation and shelter sectors.

As a result of this shortfall, 3.7 million people have been left without access to primary and secondary healthcare services, while hundreds of thousands of children and pregnant women are missing essential nutritional support.

Emergency shelter and sanitation resources are also lacking, leaving thousands affected by floods and earthquakes without long-term housing solutions, the report read.

In addition, food assistance has been scaled back, excluding entire districts from critical support and increasing the risk of malnutrition.

UNOCHA in turn appealed to donors to provide timely and consistent funding to sustain humanitarian operations and ensure aid reaches those in greatest need.

“Increased international engagement with Afghan authorities could also facilitate access and support the effective delivery of assistance,” the report read, adding that “without prompt action to address the critical funding gap, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis will deepen, leaving millions in precarious and increasingly vulnerable conditions.

Nestled in a picturesque valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, Panjshir province has long been a popular drawcard for tourists, both local and foreign.

Despite being a popular destination for visitors, Panjshir lacks basic infrastructure to cater to the growing number of people visiting the valley.

That however is about to change.

According to Panjshir’s media office, a two-storey hotel, with modern amenities, will be built on five acres of land by the Ministry of Information and Culture.

In addition, the Bazarak Panjshir municipality plans to establish a terminal for public transport vehicles.

The planning process for the hotel is already underway and construction is expected to start soon, said Rahmatullah Mohammadi, the mayor of Bazarak Panjshir.

Also on the cards is a recreational park, complete with a swimming pool. This is being established in the center of Panjshir and will cost an estimated 100 million AFN.

Since regaining control of the country in August 2021, the Islamic Emirate has made inroads into restoring security across the nation.

This has led to a sharp increase in domestic and foreign tourism, as people now flock to the many natural wonders of the country as well as heritage sites that date back thousands of years.

United Nations agencies are trying to unlock key climate financing for Afghanistan, one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change which has not received approval for any fresh such funds since the 2021 Islamic Emirate takeover, Reuters reported citing two U.N. officials.

Plagued by drought and deadly floods, Afghanistan has been unable to access U.N. climate funds due to political and procedural issues since the IEA came to power.

But with the population growing more desperate as climate woes stack up, U.N. agencies are hoping to unseal project financing for the fragile country to boost its resilience.

If successful, this would be the first time new international climate finance would flow into the arid, mountainous nation in three years.

"There are no climate sceptics in Afghanistan," said Dick Trenchard, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country director for Afghanistan. "You see the impact of climate change and its environmental effects everywhere you go."

Two U.N. agencies are currently drawing together proposals they hope to submit next year to shore up nearly $19 million in financing from the U.N's Global Environment Facility (GEF), part of the financial mechanism of the 2015 U.N. Paris Agreement on climate change.

These include the FAO, which hopes to get support for a project costing $10 million that would improve rangeland, forest and watershed management across up to four provinces in Afghanistan, while avoiding giving money directly to IEA authorities.

The U.N. Development Programme, meanwhile, hopes to secure $8.9 million to improve the resilience of rural communities where livelihoods are threatened by increasingly erratic weather patterns, the agency told Reuters. If that goes ahead, it plans to seek another $20 million project.

"We're in conversations with the GEF, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund - all these major climate financing bodies - to reopen the pipeline and get resources into the country, again, bypassing the de facto authorities," said Stephen Rodriques, UNDP resident representative for Afghanistan.

National governments often work alongside accredited agencies to implement projects that have received U.N. climate funds. But because the IEA government is not recognised by U.N. member states, U.N. agencies would both make the request and serve as the on-the-ground partner to carry out the project.

FLOODS, DROUGHT

"If one of the countries most impacted by climate change in the world cannot have access to (international climate funds), it means something isn't working," Rodriques said, adding that any funds should come alongside continued dialogue on human and women's rights.

Flash floods have killed hundreds in Afghanistan this year, and the heavily agriculture-dependent country suffered through one of the worst droughts in decades that ended last year. Many subsistence farmers, who make up much of the population, face deepening food insecurity in one of the world's poorest countries.

The FAO and UNDP will need to receive initial approvals by the GEF secretariat before they can submit their full proposals for a final decision from the GEF Council, which comprises representatives from 32 member states.

If the agencies get that first green light, Trenchard said, they would aim to submit their proposals in early 2025.

We "are awaiting guidance as to whether it would be possible to proceed," Trenchard said.

No foreign capital has formally recognised the IEA government, and many of its members are subject to sanctions. The United States has frozen billions in central bank funds since the IEA took over and imposed restrictions on education of girls and women.

Many human rights activists have condemned the IEA's policies and some have questioned whether interaction with the IEA and funnelling funds into the country could undermine foreign governments' calls for a reversal on women's rights restrictions.

The IEA says it respects women's rights in accordance with Sharia law.

Countries mired in conflict and its aftermath say they have struggled to access private investment, as they are seen as too risky. That means U.N. funds are even more critical to their populations, many of whom have been displaced by war and weather.

IEA members are attending the ongoing annual U.N. climate negotiations COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan as observers for the first time.

The IEA's presence could build trust between Afghanistan and international donors, said Abdulhadi Achakzai, founder of the Afghanistan climate nonprofit Environmental Protection Trainings and Development Organization, on the sidelines of COP29.

"It will be a safer world for the future to include Afghanistan officially in the agenda," he said. "We see this is an opportunity. There are funds for Afghanistan, we just need to secure it."