Children Lives at Stake as Poverty, Hunger Grip Afghanistan

DIDPress: World Food Programme (WFP) announced that over four million mothers and children in Afghanistan are suffering from severe malnutrition – an alarming statistic that raises serious concerns about the future health of upcoming generations.

The UN-affiliated agency recently warned in a new report that if the current situation persists, approximately 3.5 million Afghan children could be malnourished by the end of 2025.

This prediction comes amid an economic crisis, reduced foreign aid, consecutive droughts, and the collapse of the healthcare system, all of which have severely impacted the living conditions of millions of Afghan families.

According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), malnutrition rates in Afghanistan have increased over the past four years, turning into one of the region’s most severe humanitarian crises.

OCHA and the WFP have identified food insecurity, rising unemployment rates, declining household incomes, and limited access to healthcare services as the main factors driving this crisis.

Both UN bodies have called on the international community to provide immediate and sufficient financial resources to address the critical needs of Afghan children and mothers and to prevent worsening of the situation.