NEW YORK, December 16, 2025 /3BL/ – An IPC report released today shows that Afghanistan now ranks as the fourth country in the world for rates of child acute malnutrition. More than 3.7 million Afghan children are affected—200,000 more than last year—with widespread poverty preventing 78 percent of families from accessing nutritious food for their children. The crisis will continue to intensify, especially during the winter months when risks are elevated.
“No child should die because of hunger,” said Cobi Rietveld, Action Against Hunger’s Afghanistan Country Director. “Today’s report is very worrying: hunger in Afghanistan is worsening, and children are paying the highest price.”
According to the new report, children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are 12 times more likely to die than healthy children. The children most affected are very young, with 85 percent of severely malnourished children under two years old. An estimated 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are also acutely malnourished, heightening risks for both mothers and their children.
Afghanistan continues to face overlapping crises that make malnutrition prevention and treatment even more challenging. In addition to widespread poverty and limited access to healthcare, the country is now experiencing its fourth drought in five years, severely affecting crop production. A major earthquake in August caused more than 2,000 deaths and destroyed homes and health facilities in eastern Afghanistan, leaving children particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. These challenges are further compounded by ongoing border tensions and the return of over 2.5 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, which adds new risks for families already struggling to cope.
Large-scale funding cuts have intensified the crisis. The required response is only 50 percent funded so far, with just $148 million received out of a required $296 million, leaving a massive funding gap. These cuts have led to the closure of at least 305 nutrition sites across the country this year. A growing number of families struggle to reach the nutrition and healthcare they need due to a shortage of health facilities, restrictions on women’s mobility, and constraints placed on female health workers.
Action Against Hunger’s therapeutic feeding unit (TFU) in Kabul—which treats more than 1,000 children with severe acute malnutrition annually—was among the facilities affected by funding cuts. The unit was forced to suspend operations for one month before securing alternative funding, leaving queues of malnourished children without access to lifesaving care.
According to the IPC, the key drivers of this malnutrition crisis are poverty (with 78 percent of families unable to afford nutritious meals), disease burden (including 4,000 confirmed measles cases and high rates of diarrhea), poor access to safe drinking water (with more than 50 percent of people in 24 provinces lacking safe drinking water), and severely limited access to healthcare.
Despite funding gaps, Action Against Hunger continues to fight hunger in Afghanistan by treating malnourished children and pregnant mothers, and by tackling the root causes to prevent hunger. The organization works in six provinces across Afghanistan, implementing a multi-sectoral response to the ongoing crisis, which addresses the underlying causes of malnutrition. Last year, Action Against Hunger treated over 100,000 children facing malnutrition, of whom 5,611 were facing severe complications and a high likelihood of death without care.
“Hunger is rising, but together we can stop it,” said Rietveld. “Children are dying, and we must not let this happen.”
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Action Against Hunger is a global leader creating a future where every life is well nourished. We innovate to prevent malnutrition and respond to hunger hotspots, working in 59 countries and reaching more than 21 million people each year. With 8,990 staff members worldwide—95% hired locally—we ensure culturally relevant solutions and empower communities with long-term resilience. For 18 consecutive years, we’ve earned top ratings from charity evaluators—a distinction achieved by fewer than 1% of nonprofits. Together, we are promoting resilience and working to end hunger for everyone, for good.
CONTACT:
Meredith Whitefield
mwhitefield@actionagainsthunger.org
917-771-0519
