Afghanistan: More than one in three children facing crisis levels of hunger as winter starts
More than one in three children are facing severe hunger in Afghanistan this winter - an increase of 18% from a year ago - underscoring the urgent need for increased aid as funding cuts put lifesaving nutrition work at risk, Save the Children said [1].
Analysis of new data from the IPC, the global hunger monitoring body, found that 36% of children in Afghanistan - just over 9 million children - will face crisis or emergency levels of hunger (IPC 3+) before March 2026.
Nearly 3.7 million children aged under five are currently acutely malnourished in Afghanistan, according to the new IPC report, up from 3.5 million one year ago. About 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to need treatment for malnutrition [1].
Save the Children’s health and nutrition clinics in Afghanistan have seen a 13% increase in children aged under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women being admitted for treatment for moderate acute malnutrition this year compared with January-October 2024.
This increase in cases comes at a time when funding cuts could reduce the amount of essential supplementary food 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.
Funding cuts also mean that only 1 million people - almost six times less than during the same period in 2024 - will get food assistance at a time when needs are increasing, according to the IPC. [2]
Malnutrition cases tend to peak in winter months as cold weather weakens immune systems and causes a spike in respiratory infections, including pneumonia. In winter, opportunities for parents to find work become scarcer, and food and fuel prices can rise.
Afghanistan is continuing to experience new pressures on already stretched resources. About 2.4 million people have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan since the start of 2025, and nearly 500,000 people need assistance after devastating earthquakes in Eastern Afghanistan destroyed thousands of homes [3].
Drought - which is expected to continue into next year - is contributing to hunger and malnutrition, wiping out crops, killing livestock and forcing people to move from their villages in search of work.
Khalid*, 60, has eight children and works as a day labourer in southern Afghanistan, earning about US$3 per day, when he can find work. His youngest child, Zia*, is eight-months-old and was recently treated for malnutrition at a Save the Children clinic. With the price of flour and oil beyond their reach, Khalid-’s family often survives on bread and tea.
Khalid said:
"The drought has severely affected our lives. In my lifetime, I have never seen such dryness and hardship.
"Our livelihoods depend on farming and livestock, but with no water, everything is dying. The drought has destroyed our income. We simply have no money left."
More than half the population of Afghanistan - nearly 23 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN, but funding cuts have led to the closure or suspension of about 420 health clinics and around 300 nutrition sites [4].
Samira Sayed Rahman, Programme Development and Advocacy Director, Save the Children Afghanistan said:
"The increase in children expected to face severe levels of hunger and malnutrition this winter should sound an alarm. Malnutrition is entirely preventable. No child should suffer illness or lose their life simply because they did not have enough to eat.
"As winter bites, more families will be forced to make agonising choices, including pulling children out of school or sending them to work, just to afford a single meal.
"As needs soar, funding for lifesaving nutrition programs in Afghanistan is shrinking. Children and women - who make up 80% of people receiving food assistance - will be the most affected by these cuts.
"Restoring funding for health and nutrition programmes is urgently needed to help prevent levels of hunger and malnutrition rising still further."
This winter, Save the Children will reach nearly 75,000 people in Afghanistan with winter kits. including clothing, blankets, heaters and insulation materials. More than 21,000 children will also benefit from the installation of heaters in schools and childcare centres.
Save the Children has been working in Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. We have programmes in 9 provinces and work with partners in an additional 11 provinces. We deliver services spanning health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and livelihoods.
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