3.7 million Afghan children suffer from malnutrition

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today that one million children suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan are at risk of death if no action is taken to assist them.

Tajdin Ayawli, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, told journalists in Geneva, speaking from Kabul, in a statement reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) today, “3.7 million children are suffering from wasting, meaning they are in a state of acute malnutrition, including one million who are severely malnourished, putting their lives at risk.”

He added, “Without treatment, and if we cannot intervene quickly, one million children are at risk of dying.”

The World Food Programme reported that approximately 14 million of Afghanistan’s total population of around 45 million have been facing acute hunger following last year’s earthquakes, climate disasters experienced this year, and the return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.

The organization warned in early August that acute malnutrition among children has reached critical levels this year.

UNICEF noted that more than half a million children have been admitted to health centers since the beginning of the year due to wasting.

Ayawli explained that “children under two years old account for more than 80 percent of the severe acute malnutrition cases recorded by the organization across Afghanistan,” adding that such cases among children, accompanied by medical complications, have increased by more than a third this year.

He further stated, “On the other hand, mothers suffering from acute malnutrition give birth to low-birth-weight babies, whose survival rates are extremely low due to the lack of intensive care in neonatal units.”

UNICEF’s nutrition program in Afghanistan requires approximately $180 million this year, but has received only 22 percent of this funding so far, according to the organization.