Distribution by residence Distribution by region and province

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8.2 Current food security

8.2.1 Distribution by residence

Table 8.2 shows that food-insecure households are distributed across all population groups of Afghanistan. Overall, an estimated 9.3 million people or 33.0 percent of the Afghan population are food insecure. Of these, 3.4 million people or 12 percent are severely food insecure, and 5.9 million people or 21 percent are moderately food insecure. In relative terms, more rural households are food- insecure. A total of 35.9 percent of the rural population are food insecure compared to 29.6 percent of the urban population and 9.3 percent of the Kuchi population. In terms of absolute numbers, there are also many more food-insecure people 8.2 million living in rural areas, where 72 percent of the country’s population resides, excluding the 5 percent Kuchi population. The Kuchi are significantly better off compared to the rural and urban populations, most probably due to two reasons: a their lower exposure to natural hazards, economic shocks and effect of large influx of conflict-induced displacement or returns; and b data of the Kuchi was actually collected during the summer and autumn 2014 which are considered to be better seasons for livestock production better l ivestock’s body condition, higher milk production, seasonal production and selling of dried milk products and livestock. As a result, the overall milk consumption of the Kuchi is better and their coping is lighter. An estimated 140 thousand Kuchi and 1.9 million urban residents are defined as food insecure. Table 8.2: Population, by food security status, and by residence Residence Food insecure Food secure Severely Moderately Total Millions Perc. Millions Perc. Millions Perc. Millions Perc. National 3.4 12.0 5.9 21.0 9.3 33.0 18.8 67.0 Urban 0.8 12.3 1.1 17.3 1.9 29.6 4.6 70.5 Rural 2.6 12.7 4.6 23.2 7.2 35.9 12.9 64.1 Kuchi 0.0 0.0 0.1 9.3 0.1 9.3 1.4 90.7

8.2.2 Distribution by region and province

42 Food insecurity widely varies by region. The highest proportion of food insecure people is reported in the North-eastern region 46.7 percent, followed by the West region 41.7 percent, South-west 41.4 percent, and the Central Highlands region 39 percent. These regions also have the highest proportion of severely food insecure people. The largest number of food insecure population of 1.8 million people lives in the North-east, followed by 1.5 million people in Central region and 1.4 million people in North region Table 8.3 . 42 Central region: Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Panjsher, Wardak, Logar provinces. Central highland region: Bamyan, Daykundi, Ghor, Ghazni provinces. East region: provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunarha, Nooristan. North region: Balkh, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul, Jawzjan, Faryab provinces. North-east region: Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, Baghlan provinces. South-east region: Paktya, Paktika, Khost provinces. South-west region: Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Nimroz provinces. West region: Herat, Badghis, Farah provinces. 119 Table 8.3: Population, by food-security status, and by region Region Food insecure Food secure Severely Moderately Total Thousands Perc. Thousands Perc. Thousands Perc. Thousands Perc. National 3,356 12.0 5,897 21.0 9,252 33.0 18,805 67.0 Central 637 9.3 890 13.0 1,527 22.3 5,332 77.7 Central highland 286 9.9 845 29.1 1,131 39.0 1,769 61.0 East 99 3.5 224 7.9 322 11.4 2,527 88.7 North 411 10.6 1,023 26.4 1,434 37.0 2,436 62.9 North-east 682 17.4 1,145 29.3 1,827 46.7 2,085 53.3 South-east 236 14.6 260 16.1 496 30.7 1,120 69.3 South-west 499 16.5 755 24.9 1,253 41.4 1,775 58.6 West 506 16.7 755 25.0 1,261 41.7 1,761 58.3 Food security also widely varies by province Figure 8.1 . Three provinces with very high food insecurity above 60 percent are Badakhashan 73 percent, Bamyan 72 percent and Kandahar 62 percent. The second group with high food insecurity level 40.1 - 60 percent includes provinces of Ghor 59 percent, Urozgan 58 percent, Baghlan 53 percent, Balkh 53 percent, Herat 49 percent, Paktya 46 percent and Wardak 42 percent. The lowest food insecurity 10 percent or below is reported for Nangahar, Logar, Ghazni, Paktika, Kunarha, Nooristan and Nimroz provinces. By number, Herat hosts the largest number of food insecure people nearly 950 thousand, followed by Kabul 890 thousand, Kandahar 750 thousand and Badakhshan 730 thousand. Figure 8.1: Percentage food-insecure population, by province 120

8.3 Characteristics of the food-insecure population