4M Afghan Children Face Severe Malnutrition Crisis

DID Press: World Food Programme has warned that budget cuts are leaving only 25% of malnourished children in Afghanistan able to access treatment.

Currently, around 4 million Afghan children are suffering from acute malnutrition. John Iliffe, the WFP country director, described the situation as a “full-scale food crisis” and warned that continuing on the current trajectory could trigger a widespread humanitarian disaster.

Two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population faces severe malnutrition, with hospitals under extreme pressure. Doctors in Kabul and other cities report shortages of medicine, medical equipment, and personnel, making it difficult to treat the high number of patients, particularly children.

Experts attribute the crisis to a combination of prolonged economic and political instability, recurring droughts, widespread unemployment, and reductions in foreign aid.

The World Food Programme is calling on the international community to urgently increase financial support to prevent further escalation of the humanitarian disaster and to expand services for malnourished children and mothers.