UN Expert Warns Nearly 9 Million Afghan Children Trapped in Severe Hunger Crisis

A forthcoming United Nations report has painted a devastating picture of Afghanistan’s youngest generation, warning that nearly one-third of all children in the country are now enduring extreme food deprivation. The findings, set to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September, describe what UN officials are calling one of the most acute child-focused humanitarian emergencies in the world today.

According to Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, approximately 9 million Afghan children are currently facing severe food insecurity. Among them, 3.7 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition a condition that can cause irreversible physical and cognitive damage if left untreated. Bennett stressed that the convergence of hunger, entrenched poverty, and restrictive Taliban policies has created a crisis that threatens to cripple an entire generation.

The report, which covers developments from November 2025 to August 2026, concludes that Taliban governance has fundamentally reshaped nearly every facet of public and private life in Afghanistan. While the effects have been felt across the population, the most severe consequences have been borne by women, girls, and children, whose access to education, healthcare, and legal protection has been systematically eroded.

Millions of Children Hungry and Out of School

Bennett identified food insecurity as one of the most immediate and life-threatening challenges facing Afghan children. Many families, he reported, have been compelled to drastically reduce both the quantity and nutritional quality of their meals. As a result, children are increasingly attending school where they are allowed on empty stomachs, impairing their ability to learn and grow.

The educational crisis is equally alarming. In 2024, an estimated 3.8 million girls aged 7 to 18 were out of school, including more than 2.6 million adolescent girls who have been barred from secondary education since the Taliban’s return to power. Bennett warned that, should current policies persist, the total number of girls denied formal education could exceed 2 million by 2030 a staggering loss of human potential that will have ripple effects for decades.

Mental Health Emergency Worsens Among Youth

Beyond physical hunger and educational deprivation, the report underscores a rapidly deepening mental health crisis, particularly among adolescent girls. The combination of restricted mobility, exclusion from education, crushing poverty, and the evaporation of future prospects has given rise to widespread psychological distress.

Bennett cited repeated testimonies of depression, anxiety, and trauma among Afghan children and young people, including harrowing reports of suicide attempts by teenage girls. One 16-year-old from Balkh province told investigators: “My life is fear, tears, and despair.” Such accounts, the report notes, are not isolated but reflect a systemic breakdown in hope and mental well-being across the country.

Erosion of Legal Protections and Rising Exploitation

The report also documents the Taliban’s systematic dismantling of child protection frameworks. Key legal safeguards including the 2019 Child Rights Law have been suspended, while institutions responsible for juvenile justice and child welfare have been weakened or rendered inoperative.

In the absence of protective oversight, Bennett warned of a sharp rise in child labour, forced child marriage, and the recruitment of boys into Taliban military ranks. Meanwhile, the legacy of four decades of conflict continues to exact a deadly toll: unexploded ordnance and landmines kill or maim children across the country every month, with little to no clearance or public awareness efforts in place.

A Call for Accountability and Action

Describing the situation as a long-term human rights emergency, Bennett urged the Taliban to take immediate and verifiable steps to reverse course. His recommendations include:

• Restoring full legal protections for women and children;

• Reopening all schools for girls without delay;

• Reactivating independent child protection and juvenile justice institutions;

• Ending what he termed “institutionalized gender discrimination” in all forms of governance and public life.

Bennett also issued a strong appeal to the international community, cautioning against any premature normalization of relations with the Taliban. He insisted that diplomatic engagement should be conditional upon measurable, independently verified improvements in human rights, particularly those affecting the most vulnerable Afghanistan’s children.

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