The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that in 2025 Afghanistan experienced the highest increase in child malnutrition since the beginning of the 21st century.
In a statement published today (Sunday, January 18) on its X account, the programme warned that four million children are currently suffering from malnutrition and are in urgent need of treatment.
John Aylieff, WFP’s Country Director in Afghanistan, told Agence France-Presse that if these children are not treated, they will lose their lives.
He further emphasized that the World Food Programme is seeking to secure 390 million US dollars to provide food assistance to six million Afghan citizens over the next six months.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health of the caretaker government has put the number of women and children suffering from malnutrition at nearly three million.
In addition, OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says that Afghanistan will face one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises in 2026.
Alongside this, the World Food Programme has warned that on the eve of winter more than 17 million Afghans are facing severe food insecurity, a crisis accompanied by acute malnutrition.
Referring to consecutive wars, drought, and repeated earthquakes in Afghanistan, the head of the World Food Programme said the country is currently at a critical juncture.
