UNICEF Warns of Severe Malnutrition for Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF announced that 3.7 million children are affected by acute malnutrition in Afghanistan and one million children are at risk of death.
As the economic crisis, food insecurity, and a reduction in international aid in Afghanistan leave children facing a deep nutritional crisis, UNICEF announced that 3.7 million children across the country are affected by acute malnutrition, and approximately one million children are facing life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) drew attention to the dimensions of the crisis in a statement made on August 25. According to data shared by UNICEF Afghanistan Representative Tajudeen Oyewale at a press conference in Geneva, infants under six months old account for approximately 40 percent of children hospitalized due to severe malnutrition and related health problems. Furthermore, 83 percent of severe acute malnutrition cases are observed in children under two years of age.
The congestion in the health system also reveals the scale the crisis has reached. According to UNICEF, more than half a million children have applied to health institutions due to severe or high-risk malnutrition since the beginning of 2026. The number of severe malnutrition cases hospitalized with medical complications increased by about a third in one year, rising from approximately 6,000 in July 2025 to 8,000 in July 2026. In some hospitals in the south of the country, it is stated that attempts are being made to treat three or four severely malnourished children for every single bed.