The United Kingdom will provide £315 million in humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan over the next three years, reaffirming its commitment to supporting the Afghan people despite the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
In a written statement to Parliament, Hamish Falconer, the UK’s parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, said Britain would allocate £105 million annually from 2026 to 2029, keeping Afghanistan among the UK’s largest recipients of official development assistance.
The funding will prioritize health care, nutrition, education, livelihoods and climate resilience, while expanding support for Afghan organizations that operate independently of the Taliban, Falconer said. The package will also assist Afghans returning from neighboring countries.
“Women and girls will remain central to this approach,” Falconer said, adding that Britain remains committed to ensuring that at least half of those reached through UK-funded aid programs are women and girls.
The announcement comes as Afghanistan continues to face one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. According to the British government, nearly 22 million people are expected to require humanitarian assistance this year, including 17.4 million facing acute food insecurity. Nearly 5 million women, girls and boys are expected to need treatment for malnutrition in 2026.
Falconer said the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls—including bans on secondary and higher education, employment and participation in public life—continue to undermine fundamental freedoms and pose a major obstacle to Afghanistan’s long-term development and stability.
“The ongoing denial of these rights presents a significant barrier to Afghanistan’s long-term development, stability and prosperity,” he said.
The UK said it would continue to monitor aid delivery through independent oversight mechanisms to ensure assistance reaches those most in need. It said British-funded programs supported at least 2.7 million people during the 2024-25 financial year, including more than 1.7 million women and girls.
Britain also said it would continue working with international partners, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to help sustain essential services in Afghanistan, particularly in the health sector, where funding remains under pressure.
