Winter pre-positioning and remote-area delivery in Afghanistan

Which destinations lose access in winter?

The Logistics Cluster's road network assessment (opens in a new tab) notes that the Kabul–Mazar-e-Sharif highway can be restricted at the Salang pass by heavy snowfall or avalanches, but the larger risk sits off the highway network, where unpaved rural roads can become impassable in winter. The assessment gives examples across the country: remote districts of Faryab and Sar-e-Pul that become inaccessible once snow begins to fall; Badghis and Ghor, where roads are often impassable in winter; the central highlands, including Daykundi; mountainous Nuristan and Kunar; and districts of Uruzgan reachable only by light trucks in winter.

Treat these as prompts to check, not as a calendar. Snow arrives at different times each year, and road works change the picture: the same assessment recorded, for instance, that the Salang pass was closed for renovation in October 2024, with heavy trucks diverted by the Shebar road. Confirm current conditions with regional staff and with the Logistics Working Group's road-status mapping before fixing dates.

Work backwards from the last reliable delivery date

For each at-risk destination, the planning question is the last date on which a delivery can be made with confidence. Everything else is scheduled back from it: the handover, the transfer to smaller vehicles, the trunk movement, dispatch from the warehouse, inspection and the purchase itself. If sourcing takes six weeks and a district becomes unreliable in early winter, the purchase decision belongs in late summer, not in November.

Sequence remote destinations by which close first rather than by caseload. The districts that lose access earliest should be served first, even where they are smaller; larger destinations on paved roads can take a later window.

Imported items need the longest lead. The Logistics Working Group's August 2026 minutes (opens in a new tab) record Torkham closed to trade since October 2025 and Spin Boldak closed to regular movement, with humanitarian cargo moving through longer western and northern corridors. Anything not available inside the country has to be ordered before the domestic plan even starts.

Pre-position close to the need

Pre-positioning moves stock to a warehouse near the at-risk area while the roads are open, so the final delivery is a short movement rather than a long one in poor conditions. The choice of site matters as much as the timing: a provincial warehouse that is itself cut off from the districts it serves solves nothing. Choose sites on the same side of the pass as the recipients.

Stock held through winter needs the same controls as stock in Kabul: a goods received note on arrival, stock and bin cards kept current, cycle counts, and dispatch against written instructions. Items with expiry dates — food, soap, some hygiene products — should be checked for remaining shelf life before they are sent to sit in a remote warehouse for months.

Zhikal runs warehousing as part of distribution assignments, in Kabul and in the provinces where a programme holds stock; one documented contract covered warehouse management across ten provinces for twelve months.

Size the vehicles and the plan for the season

Winter changes which vehicles can reach a destination. The road network assessment records district roads in Baghlan and Takhar that take trucks of up to 20 tonnes in good weather but only light trucks under 10 tonnes when snow, floods or landslides set in. The load then has to be split, and the number of trips and drivers rises. Plan the vehicle class for the worst month in the delivery window, not the best.

Build contingency into the contract rather than into the day. Agree what happens if a road closes with the load on the way — wait, return, or hold at the nearest safe warehouse — and who pays for the extra days. At Zhikal, routes and field risk are assessed before deployment, go/no-go authority sits at zone level, and disruptions are reported to the client within 24 hours with a proposed alternative. The road transport guide covers route and load planning in more detail.

Handover in winter conditions

Cold and short days change the handover. Distribution points need shelter and space to work out of the weather, recipients may travel further on poor roads, and there is less daylight for verification and acknowledgement. Schedule fewer recipients per day than in summer, confirm the receiving counterpart before departure, and complete delivery notes and acknowledgements on the day rather than after the team has left.

Winterization items have standards of their own: the ES/NFI Cluster's standard winterization package (opens in a new tab) is the cluster's reference for composition, and the NFI and hygiene-kit guide covers specification and inspection. The wider handover checklist is in the last-mile delivery guide.

An autumn checklist

Each item below should have a named owner and a date before the first snow.

• At-risk destinations listed

  With the last reliable delivery date for each, confirmed with regional staff.

• Imported items ordered

  Anything not available in the country ordered first, with its corridor and lead time stated.

• Pre-positioning sites chosen

  On the recipients' side of the pass, with capacity and stock controls confirmed.

• Vehicle class set for the worst month

  And the extra trips and drivers that implies, in the budget.

• Contingency agreed in writing

  What happens, and who pays, if a road closes mid-delivery.

• Evidence set agreed

  Goods received notes, delivery notes and acknowledgements, with signatories and language, before dispatch.