Afghanistan Facing Unprecedented Surge in Child Malnutrition, Says UN Agency

Nearly 10 million people—one-quarter of Afghanistan’s population—suffer from acute food insecurity, with child malnutrition rates reaching record levels.

Afghanistan is experiencing its sharpest rise ever in child malnutrition, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday, adding that it urgently needs $539 million to support the country’s most vulnerable families.

According to the WFP, nearly 10 million Afghans—about 25% of the population—are facing acute food insecurity, and one in three children is stunted due to chronic undernutrition.

The surge in malnutrition has been directly linked to a reduction in emergency food assistance over the past two years, as international donor support has declined significantly. In April, the U.S. government under President Donald Trump cut off food aid to Afghanistan, a move that severely impacted relief efforts in one of the world’s poorest nations.

The United States was previously the WFP’s largest donor, contributing $4.5 billion of the agency’s $9.8 billion global budget in the previous year. For years, American administrations had considered humanitarian aid part of a broader national security strategy—to reduce conflict, fight poverty and extremism, and limit mass migration.

The food crisis in Afghanistan is being exacerbated by mass deportations from neighboring countries, which are forcibly returning Afghans living there without documentation. The WFP reports that it has assisted around 60,000 returnees from Iran in the past two months—only a fraction of those crossing the border.

“Going forward, the WFP does not have sufficient funding to continue supporting all returnees,” said Ziauddin Safi, Communications Officer for the WFP in Afghanistan.
“We urgently require $15 million to provide assistance to all eligible returnees from Iran.”

Safi added that the agency needs $539 million in total through January to reach vulnerable families across the country.

Climate change is also deepening the humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan’s rural population is particularly affected by extreme weather events, including droughts, water shortages, shrinking arable land, and flash floods.

“These environmental challenges are having a profound impact on people’s livelihoods and the national economy,” said Matiullah Khalis, head of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency, last week.

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