Why the War?

Some 9.4 million Afghans are in need of basic food and housing this year, up from 6.5 million in 2019.

The United Nations is seeking $730 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan this year, an increase on 2019 as poverty surges in a country worn down by war and drought, the U.N.'s deputy special representative for Afghanistan said.

"Afghanistan remains the world's deadliest conflict, and on top of the lingering effects of the drought in 2018, coupled with growing poverty, the need is up," Toby Lanzer, the U.N.'s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, told Reuters.