Today I am updating the House on the UK’s ongoing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and setting out how the Government will continue to support the Afghan people in the years ahead.

Nearly five years after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the humanitarian situation remains severe and at risk of further deterioration. Nearly 22 million people will require humanitarian assistance this year, including 17.4 million facing acute food insecurity. Afghanistan faces one of the highest global burdens of child and maternal malnutrition, with nearly 5 million women, girls and boys expected to require treatment in 2026. Recurrent climate shocks, including drought and flooding, continue to drive food insecurity and vulnerability and ongoing structural challenges continue to impact access to essential health services. These pressures are compounded by regional instability, economic fragility, disrupted supply chains.

The Taliban’s severe restrictions on women and girls, including on access to education, employment and participation in public life, continue to undermine fundamental freedoms and contribute to broader human rights concerns in Afghanistan. Women and girls should have equal access to opportunities and be able to participate fully in society. The ongoing denial of these rights presents a significant barrier to Afghanistan’s long-term development, stability and prosperity.

As we enter a new Spending Review period, this is an opportunity to reaffirm and renew our longstanding commitment to supporting the people of Afghanistan. As set out today by the Minister of State for International Development and Africa in her Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts published today, the UK will provide £105 million per year over the next three years (2026 to 2029) to support the Afghan people. Afghanistan will remain one of the UK’s largest Official Development Assistance (ODA) portfolios during this period, reflecting both the scale of need and our continued commitment.

This funding will continue to focus on addressing the most severe impacts of Afghanistan’s protracted crisis. We will prioritise life-saving services, including health and nutrition; support essential education; protect the most vulnerable at great risk of harm, abuse and discrimination; and strengthen livelihoods and climate resilience. We will also increase engagement with non-Taliban affiliated Afghan partners to support locally led solutions, including assistance for Afghans returning to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries. Women and girls will remain central to this approach as highlighted in the UK International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls 2026. Across UK-supported programmes, we will prioritise their rights and needs, and remain steadfast in our commitment that at least half of those reached by UK aid are women and girls.

We continue to engage Third Party Monitoring in addition to FCDO oversight, to ensure aid is directed to those most in need. We expect to publish full results for 2025/26 in the summer. This will build on the 2024/25 FCDO bilateral ODA results, which supported at least 2.7 million people, including more than 1.7 million women and girls.

The UK continues to demonstrate solidarity with Afghan women. For example, we hosted events with the exiled Afghan women’s refugee cricket team during their visit to the UK in the Summer, including an audience with His Majesty The King and engagements with the Foreign Secretary and me. The UK will continue to provide platforms for Afghan women to advocate for their rights and ensure their voices inform UK policy and programming. The Foreign Secretary’s ‘All In’ campaign, launched in December, reinforces the Government’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls globally. In addition, the UK Special Envoy to Afghanistan visited Kabul in May and met a wide range of Afghan women and civil society groups to hear directly about their situation and their requests of the UK Government, and UK humanitarian advisers travelled to Islam Qala to understand firsthand the situation for vulnerable Afghans returning from Iran.

We continue to use our leadership to ensure an effective humanitarian response across the international community. We are taking forward with donors and partners the joint commitments we developed in the London Compact on food security and nutrition in Afghanistan in late 2025. We continue to use our bilateral investment and engagement to work with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to support vital financing of basic services, especially in health, where the international funding outlook remains challenging.

The UK will continue to stand with the people of Afghanistan, providing life-saving assistance, supporting the rights of women and girls, and working with partners to sustain essential services and support longer-term resilience.

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