Afghanistan Covid-19 Poverty Monitor

Afghanistan was not food secure before Covid-19 due to protracted years of conflict and severe droughts. The impacts of Covid-19 have worsened the situation for many rural and urban poor households. Across the country, quantitative analysis of survey data indicates that 69% of households before Covid-19 (October 2019– March 2020) had worried about not having enough food to eat, a figure which rose to 76% during the initial months of the pandemic (April–September 2020).

Interviews and focus group discussions for this bulletin were conducted between June and July 2021 in rural and urban areas in Kandahar city and Dand district of Kandahar province and Herat city, Pashtoon Zarghoon and Injil district of Herat province. This paper will demonstrate how Covid-19 impacts people living in poverty.