UN: 4.2 Million Afghans Need Emergency Shelter in 2026 Amid Crises

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that approximately 4.2 million people in Afghanistan will require emergency shelter assistance in 2026 due to increased natural disasters, economic difficulties and forced returns of migrants.

OCHA said humanitarian organizations plan to provide shelter and non-food item aid to 881,000 affected individuals, requiring $160.3 million in funding. The agency highlighted a multidimensional humanitarian crisis exacerbated by natural events, economic pressures, social inequalities and political factors, which have heightened vulnerabilities. Women-headed households, internally displaced persons and returnees are most at risk.

In 2025, more than 15,000 people were affected by floods and heavy rains, with about 90% still living in tents or damaged, unsafe homes. Over four million Afghans have returned to the country, nearly a quarter of whom identified shelter as their biggest need. UN assessments indicate around 390,000 families live in nearly 900 informal settlements, despite a decline in such sites over the past two years. Afghanistan experienced deadly natural disasters last year, killing thousands and destroying homes.

OCHA warned that without adequate funding, hundreds of thousands of Afghans will face serious humanitarian threats this winter.

Separately, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in its latest quarterly update that 14 former security force members were killed over the past three months. UNAMA documented at least 28 arbitrary detentions and seven cases of torture or ill-treatment targeting former government officials and security personnel, many of whom had recently returned from Iran and Pakistan.

UNAMA stated the Taliban continue to bar female Afghan UN staff from offices nationwide since September 7, 2025, though they work from home while advocacy for access continues. Morality police agents conducted at least 520 arbitrary arrests and 50 instances of mistreatment between October 1 and December 31, 2025. UNAMA also reported a Taliban court ordered the arrest of an underage girl for refusing forced marriage; she remains in a provincial prison.