One million Afghan children face severe malnutrition, UNICEF warns

Afghanistan’s child malnutrition crisis has reached an alarming level, with an estimated 3.7 million children across the country suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a report by Arab News.

Around one million of these children are experiencing severe malnutrition, a life-threatening condition requiring urgent treatment and care.

Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, told Arab News that limited dietary diversity, poverty, disease, declining humanitarian assistance and growing pressure on health services are among the key factors driving the crisis.

He said access to diverse, nutritious foods and proper child-feeding practices remains a major challenge for Afghan families.

Oyewale also noted that the return of more than six million people from Iran and Pakistan since 2023 has placed additional pressure on Afghanistan’s health services, food supplies and water resources.

According to UNICEF, its child nutrition programme in Afghanistan requires around $180 million in 2026, but only 22 percent of the required funding has been secured so far.

The UNICEF representative said the organization has the knowledge, capacity and access needed to address malnutrition, but stressed that flexible and sustained funding is essential to expand services and reach vulnerable children.