KARACHI
\nA UN-led assessment says Afghanistan requires $128.8 million to restore housing, schools and key services in its quake-hit eastern provinces, warning that reconstruction faces \u201csignificant shortfalls\u201d as donor support for the country falls sharply.
\nThe Joint Rapid Recovery Needs Assessment (JRRNA), conducted with the World Bank, EU and ADB, outlines a three-year plan to rebuild homes, health facilities, water systems and farmland in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman.
\nIt comes as aid to Afghanistan shrinks, with the UN estimating a $3.2 billion need this year and a similar requirement in 2026, less than half of which has been funded.
\n\u201cThe earthquakes-hit communities are already strained by drought, mass returns and a sharp economic contraction,\u201d UN Resident Representative Stephen Rodriguez told Reuters. \u201cThere is very limited capacity left to cope with another shock.\u201d
\nSpokespeople for the Taliban administration and the government\u2019s disaster management authority did not respond to requests for comment.
\nThe JRRNA says the quakes caused $86.6 million in damage across 10 districts, affecting 56,000 families, with more than 6,200 homes collapsed, 2,000 severely damaged, and 22 health facilities and 80 schools hit. The full recovery bill is higher at $128.8 million.
\nHousing is the biggest challenge, costing $54.9 million to rebuild thousands of homes. Education needs $14.9 million, with more funding needed for water, irrigation, farmland and rural roads.
\nUN agencies have provided emergency tents and cash to thousands of families, with nearly 10,000 households needing urgent shelter support and 7,700 people still displaced.
\nRodriguez said the assistance eased immediate pressures but was \u201cnowhere near enough\u201d to move families out of survival mode without longer-term investment.
\nTIGHTENING AID ENVIRONMENT
\nRodriguez said a major donor cut $80\u201390 million this year, forcing more than 400 health centers to close in the first half of 2025, adding that basic services had already been scaled back as needs rise. He did not identify the donor.
\nThe UN Development Programme plans to seek $150 million for infrastructure, jobs and private-sector support next year, including $43 million for re-integration of refugees who have returned, but Rodriguez said it was unclear how much donors would provide.
\nAfghanistan has also absorbed one of the world\u2019s largest forced return of refugees. Rodriguez said 4.3 million to 4.5 million Afghans have returned since 2021, with UN refugee agency data showing up to 2.5 million more in Iran and 1.7 million in Pakistan could return if current policies continue.
\n\u201cThe absorptive capacity is already exceeded,\u201d he said, noting that 88 percent of returnees are in debt and only 4 percent have salaried jobs. With 400,000 young Afghans entering the labor market each year, Rodriguez warned that delays in reconstruction risk fueling social tensions and outward migration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI A UN-led assessment says Afghanistan requires $128.8 million to restore housing, schools and key services in its quake-hit eastern provinces, warning that reconstruction faces \u201csignificant shortfalls\u201d as donor support for the country falls sharply. The Joint Rapid Recovery Needs Assessment (JRRNA), conducted with the World Bank, EU and ADB, outlines a three-year plan to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478617,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-515589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n