Afghanistan: 3.7 million young lives at risk of malnutrition, UNICEF warns

The warning comes in a new report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), published on Sunday, which said that child food and nutrition insecurity is among the main drivers of undernutrition in the country. 

Wasting is the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition, and is caused by recent food deprivation, illness, or both. 

Children suffering from the condition are too thin for their height and their weak immune systems leave them vulnerable to developmental delays, disease and death. 

A deepening crisis 

The report, Too Little, Too Late: The Diet Crisis Facing Young Children in Afghanistan, was released as the country enters a peak wasting season from July to September.  Recent data shows it’s worsened across 26 out of 34 provinces compared with 2025, indicating an early and deepening crisis. 

For the first time at this scale in Afghanistan, UNICEF measured child malnutrition alongside the lived experience of food and nutrition insecurity among the same group of children across all provinces.  

The new findings aim to help identify risk earlier, before children become severely malnourished and require urgent treatment. 

The study points to early warning signs such as reduced food variety, skipped meals, and children eating less than they need or going hungry. Children under age two have been hardest hit, accounting for 83 per cent of severe acute malnutrition cases and 77 per cent of moderate acute malnutrition cases. 

‘Invest in prevention’ 

“Young children in Afghanistan are being pushed closer to malnutrition before the peak season has even begun,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in the country.  

“When families begin reducing meals or cutting back on nutritious foods, it is not only a sign of hardship. It is a warning that a child may soon become dangerously wasted.” 

He noted that although treatment saves lives, “we must also invest in prevention, starting with the diets of the youngest children and pregnant women.” 

Lack of water and funding 

The new analysis shows that children in severely food-insecure households are up to six times more likely to suffer from wasting during peak malnutrition periods.   

Moreover, UNICEF’s latest Afghanistan Nutrition Cluster alert underscores why response must go beyond nutrition services alone.  

In addition to poor child diets and rising food insecurity, worsening malnutrition is also linked to disease outbreaks, low immunization coverage, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services, and growing funding and supply gaps – all of which are weakening children’s health and increasing their vulnerability to wasting. 

‘The window to act is narrowing’ 

With the peak wasting season approaching, UNICEF is calling for urgent investment to protect young children’s diets and prevent more youngsters from becoming malnourished.  

Action also includes scaling-up in its First Foods Initiative, prioritising children aged six to 23 months, strengthening preventive nutrition services, and ensuring better alignment of essential services around children’s nutrition needs. 

“The window to act is narrowing,” UNICEF said, stressing that “the warning signs are visible earlier, and the response must come earlier too.” 

The agency underscored the need for urgent, flexible funding now to reach families before the crisis deepens further.