Nearly 1 in 10 children under five in Afghanistan suffer from acute malnutrition amid declining international funding and healthcare closures, warns Save the Children.
Afghanistan is facing a deepening child nutrition emergency as almost 1 in 10 children under 5 now suffer from acute malnutrition, according to Save the Children. The aid group said 3.7 million children in that age group are affected, 14% more than in 2022, as reduced international funding makes an already fragile humanitarian situation worse.
The organisation said aid for Afghanistan has fallen by more than two-thirds over the same period. For 2026, donors have pledged about €390 million, but Save the Children said that is still more than €1 billion short of what is needed. The United Nations has also warned that Afghanistan’s humanitarian response is severely underfunded, leaving nutrition and food assistance programmes exposed to further cuts.
The strain on health care is growing alongside the hunger crisis. Save the Children said hundreds of hospitals and other health facilities have had to close at least temporarily, cutting off medical care for about 4 million people, roughly half of them children. The World Food Programme warned last week that hunger in Afghanistan was worsening further.
Save the Children, which has worked in Afghanistan since 1974, said it has continued treating children with acute malnutrition, but that delayed or missing aid payments have prevented it from maintaining basic services for hundreds of thousands of people. The crisis has unfolded under Taliban rule, five years after the group returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of Nato forces and their partners.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
