[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1135, 314], "category": "Text", "text": "urban peripheries face challenges at the nexus of humanitarian and basic needs, characterized by underdeveloped infrastructure and services and populated by individuals whose skills are often mismatched with their new environments. Communities, highly reliant on external assistance and vulnerable to shocks, find themselves in competition for limited resources. For international stakeholders, these zones represent critical areas where the convergence of humanitarian and basic needs is most acutely required, underscoring the imperative for targeted support."}, {"bbox": [96, 323, 1135, 485], "category": "Text", "text": "Afghans were the leading group of asylum seekers in Europe in the third quarter of 2021 with 28,000 first time applications⁵⁰. The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) reported over 15,000 asylum applications by Afghans across European Union Member States, Norway, and Switzerland, as of October 2022. These new arrivals, added to over 2 million registered refugees from previous displacement waves, and another 5 million Afghans of varying statuses, have exerted significant pressure on host nations. In contrast, voluntary returns to Afghanistan have remained relatively low, with just 6,000 registered refugees recorded as returning in 2022."}, {"bbox": [96, 494, 1135, 604], "category": "Text", "text": "Within Afghanistan, over 1.3 million IDPs have returned to their communities of origin since the end of the conflict, but an estimated 3.4 million remain internally displaced due to conflict, of whom 58% are children⁵¹, further aggravating the already dire situation in host communities. IDPs have been put under pressure by de facto authorities to return to their area of origin, although living conditions in those areas have not improved."}, {"bbox": [96, 613, 1135, 802], "category": "Text", "text": "Compounding these challenges is the forced internal displacement due to conflict and natural disasters, with affected populations often losing their livelihoods. 3.3 million people are displaced due to climate change. Ethnic minorities, such as the Hazara, face added violence and persecution. Limited livelihood opportunities for IDPs have further exacerbated the situation, leading to negative coping mechanisms, such as early child marriages or sending children abroad for work. Despite previous efforts to restore livelihoods through cash infusion and short-term employment, these strategies alone are insufficient to address Afghanistan's structural economic deficiencies and establish sustainable growth."}, {"bbox": [96, 811, 1135, 1080], "category": "Text", "text": "Statistics show that the most important drivers of migration worldwide are of an economic nature and that new displacement is primarily caused by extreme weather events and the impact of climate change. Migration has profound gender implications leaving women and girls behind, and putting them at further risk of violence and in vulnerable situations, especially in the context of Afghanistan. Migration-specific projects lack the reach to address these issues at large scale. Only an inclusive, resilient economy can sustainably assure that populations are relieved from the pressure to migrate. Given the lack of this medium-term perspective in Afghanistan, the need for basic needs and livelihoods activities in-country is even more acute. Activities focussing on economic recovery (both in urban and rural areas), access to social services (especially health care, education, and protection) will therefore be screened to assure that IDPs and returnees receive access to benefits on equal terms with the larger population. Advocacy efforts with local communities will include the specific situation of displaced populations and returnees."}, {"bbox": [96, 1089, 741, 1118], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Environmental degradation, natural disasters and climate change"}, {"bbox": [96, 1127, 1135, 1290], "category": "Text", "text": "With regard to **climate vulnerability**, although Afghanistan has contributed a mere 0.066% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions⁵², the country is ranked the sixth most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate and weather-related disasters⁵³. Projections indicate that by 2050, average temperatures in Afghanistan will rise by an additional 1.4 to 4°C, and precipitation patterns will become increasingly erratic, further intensifying recurrent cycles of drought and flooding. Water availability is projected to significantly decrease, which will heavily affect rural households relying on agriculture, but also populations in urban centers."}, {"bbox": [96, 1300, 1135, 1461], "category": "Text", "text": "Climate change and environmental degradation is becoming the predominant driver of humanitarian needs in Afghanistan with serious implications also for both national and regional peace and security. Climate change is a threat multiplier through factors including livelihood deterioration, competition over scarce resources (particularly water) and access to basic services, tensions over migration, and increased vulnerability to recruitment into armed groups or narcotics production. Between 2010 and 2020, over 785,000 people in Afghanistan were displaced by natural disasters with 97 per cent due to drought and floods. The drought in 2018, displaced almost half a million"}, {"bbox": [85, 1524, 233, 1549], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵⁰ Eurostat, 2021."}, {"bbox": [85, 1549, 619, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵¹ UNHCR (2022). External Update: Afghanistan Situation #21."}, {"bbox": [85, 1573, 865, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵² WRI Climate Watch (2020). https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions?breakBy=regions&end_year=2020&regions=WORLD%2CAFG&start_year=1990"}, {"bbox": [85, 1622, 737, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵³ Global Climate Risk Index (2021). https://www.germanwatch.org/en/19777"}, {"bbox": [1027, 1681, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 14 of 38"}]