Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- The number of people forced to flee their homes in Afghanistan is increasing and the conditions for the displaced are falling well below international standards , a new study by the Norwegian Refugee Council found . In 2012 alone , spreading conflict in Afghanistan has forced more than 166,000 Afghans to flee their homes , bringing the total number of people internally displaced by conflict to at least 460,000 since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001 , according to the council 's report . The numbers alone do n't tell the full story , it says . Most of the internally displaced people `` are living in appalling conditions and in situations of extreme poverty , '' Dan Tyler , protection and advocacy manager at NRC Afghanistan , told CNN . India-Pakistan dynamic holds key to Afghanistan 's future . Lack of employment , insufficient food and water supplies , and poor quality housing or shelters -- typically tents or unsubstantial mud homes -- are among the problems internally displaced people are facing , especially during the winter , when their shelters can not offer enough protection against the cold , the report says . Last winter brought Afghanistan 's displacement crisis into sharp focus , and revealed the scale of suffering facing displaced people , with reports of `` at least 100 confirmed deaths , mostly of children , who died from the cold or illness in Kabul alone , '' Tyler said . One of the displaced people , Mohammad Ibrahim , 42 , fled his home in Greshk district of southern Helmand province almost three years ago with his wife and five children . Now he lives under a mud hut in a makeshift camp in the eastern part of Kabul , the capital city . `` I am really worried about what will happen to our children this winter , '' Ibrahim told CNN . `` Last winter more than 10 children died just in our makeshift camp due to cold , and I do n't know how many more would die this winter , which has already started . '' Ibrahim added that last year he thought that he would be in a better situation by this year 's winter , `` but I was wrong . '' The study also says that displaced families report facing obstacles to find health services and to access education for their children , with over a third of the displaced children lacking access to schools . According to Tyler , very few provinces are immune from either receiving or creating internally displace people , but the southern and southeastern regions are the main origination areas , and the majority of people go to big cities , especially Kabul , where security and livelihood opportunities , as well as access to services , is perceived to be greater . Afghan bank fraud siphoned out savers ' money , independent report says . The report adds that more than half of the people surveyed identified the Taliban and other anti-government groups as the key causes of insecurity in their homes communities and the primary drivers of their displacement . The Norwegian Refugee Council 's study reveals worrying gaps in protection and assistance because of the challenges of collecting information and coordinating responses amid increasing insecurity . Many humanitarian actors tasked with collecting data on displacement have limited access to those most in need , it says . The Afghan government 's response to the displacement crisis has also been inadequate , the report says . Insufficient funding , capacity and lack of expertise on the part of central and local authorities means conditions for the displaced , both during the period of their displacement and during the course of their return have fallen well below international standards , according to the study . `` There is also concern that , as international troops withdraw from Afghanistan ( by 2014 ) , there will be less funding available to meet the humanitarian needs '' of internally displaced people , Tyler said . There is growing awareness that during and beyond the security transition , more would need to be done to profile the needs of displaced people . `` But whether the humanitarian community will have time to prepare ( for ) , or the funding to respond to a deepening displacement crisis is far from certain , '' he warned . Opinion : Five ways to fix Afghanistan .
In Pakistan alone , more than 166,000 Afghans have fled their homes , a new report says . The Afghan Refugee Council found most are ` ` living in appalling conditions '' The internally displace people lack access to healthcare and education ' , it says . The Afghan government 's response has been inadequate , the report says .