Child Wasting Reaches Critical Levels in a Third of Afghanistan's Provinces
The UN World Food Program (WFP) has reported that child wasting—the deadliest form of malnutrition—has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan's provinces. Nearly 3.7 million Afghan children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, along with 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to WFP.
WFP said that aid shortages and the current US-Iran war have forced the organisation to scale back operations, leaving it able to reach just one in seven women and children in need. The agency also reported that 12 Afghan provinces have reached critical levels of acute child malnutrition, a record number.
Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office in Afghanistan, told reporters at UN headquarters by video from Afghanistan that nutrition specialists report that "wasting among children has worsened this year in over three-quarters of the country." Children suffering from wasting are acutely malnourished, become very thin for their height, and need immediate therapeutic feeding. But "too many children arrive at health facilities severely malnourished," while others never make it, she added.
WFP said 142 health centres closed in 2025 because of aid reductions, and more than 13,000 children lost access to nutrition treatment. The agency did not mention any specific donor, such as the United States, where the Trump administration has made sweeping cuts in foreign aid.
John Aylieff, WFP's country director in Afghanistan, said in a statement that "we must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking," adding that "it is already too late for too many."
The situation unfolds as Afghanistan continues to recover from decades of conflict and upheaval, including the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021 as the Taliban took power. WFP cited a combination of conflict, unemployment, and funding shortfalls as driving factors behind the deteriorating nutrition outlook.