Afghanistan gets $18 million as OCHA releases $160 million from CERF for underfunded crises

2 October 2026

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released $160 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for twelve crises that receive very little attention and money. Afghanistan is one of the three biggest recipients in this round, getting $18 million, the same amount as the occupied Palestinian territory and Yemen. The allocation was announced by Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, who heads OCHA. CERF is the United Nations fund that lets relief work begin or continue when an appeal has not been funded, and OCHA manages it. The release came in the same month as a UNAMA human rights report and an IPC analysis that together showed hunger and rights restrictions in Afghanistan at record levels. Fletcher noted that money alone would not solve the problem.