(Adnkronos) – This winter, more than one in three children are facing critical levels of hunger in Afghanistan, an 18% increase compared to a year ago. This is the alarm raised by Save the Children, the international organization that has been fighting for over 100 years to save at-risk girls and boys and ensure their future – which emphasizes the urgency of increasing aid after funding cuts have jeopardized life-saving nutritional programs. Analysis of new IPC data (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – the leading international authority on the severity of food crises – shows that 36% of girls and boys in Afghanistan, just over 9 million, will face critical or emergency levels of hunger (IPC 3+) before March 2026.
According to new IPC research, nearly 3.7 million children under five in Afghanistan are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, compared to 3.5 million a year ago. It is estimated that approximately 1.2 million pregnant and lactating women will need treatment for malnutrition. Save the Children’s health and nutrition clinics in Afghanistan have recorded a 13% increase this year in children under five and pregnant and lactating women admitted for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition compared to the January-October 2024 period. This increase comes at a time when funding cuts could reduce the amount of essential supplementary foods used to treat moderate acute malnutrition for up to 38,000 children and mothers supported by Save the Children in Afghanistan, unless new funding is found.
One effect of the funding cuts is that only 1 million people – almost six times fewer than in the same period of 2024 – will receive food assistance at a time when needs are increasing, according to the IPC. Malnutrition cases tend to peak in the winter months, as cold weather weakens the immune system and causes an increase in respiratory infections, including pneumonia. In winter, job opportunities for parents become scarcer, and food and fuel prices can rise.
Afghanistan continues to face new pressures on already limited resources. Since the beginning of the year, approximately 2.4 million people have returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan, and nearly 500,000 people need assistance after devastating earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan destroyed thousands of homes. The drought, which is expected to continue into next year, is contributing to worsening levels of hunger and malnutrition, destroying crops, killing livestock, and forcing people to abandon their villages in search of work.
According to the United Nations, more than half of the Afghan population – nearly 23 million people – needs humanitarian assistance, but funding cuts have led to the closure or suspension of approximately 420 health clinics and about 300 nutrition centers. “The increasing number of girls and boys who will face severe levels of hunger and malnutrition this winter should sound an alarm. Malnutrition is preventable. No child should suffer from illness or lose their life simply because they don’t have enough to eat. Instead, with winter approaching, more and more families will be forced to make heartbreaking choices, such as withdrawing children from school or sending them to work, just to afford a single meal. While needs are skyrocketing, funding for life-saving nutrition programs in Afghanistan is decreasing. Children and women, who constitute 80% of those receiving food assistance, will be the most affected by these cuts. It is urgent to restore funding for health and nutrition programs to prevent hunger and malnutrition levels from increasing further,” said Samira Sayed Rahman, Director of Program Development and Advocacy for Save the Children Afghanistan.
This winter, Save the Children will reach nearly 75,000 people in Afghanistan with winter kits that include clothes, blankets, stoves, and insulation materials. More than 21,000 children will also benefit from the installation of stoves in schools and kindergartens. Save the Children has been operating in Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. It manages programs in 9 provinces and collaborates with partners in another 11 provinces. It provides services ranging from health, nutrition, education, child protection, housing, water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and livelihoods.
