3.7 Million Afghan Children Face Malnutrition Risk

A one-year-old girl attends a follow-up nutrition visit at a health clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Around 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are at heightened risk of malnutrition due to food insecurity, poor diets, and inadequate access to essential services, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday.

The warning came in UNICEF's latest report, Too Little, Too Late: The Diet Crisis Facing Young Children in Afghanistan, which said child food and nutrition insecurity remains one of the leading causes of undernutrition in the country.

The report noted that Afghanistan is entering its peak wasting season from July to September. Wasting—the most immediate, visible, and life-threatening form of malnutrition—is caused by recent food deprivation, illness, or both. Children suffering from wasting are dangerously thin for their height, and their weakened immune systems leave them vulnerable to developmental delays, disease, and death.

Recent data show that the situation has worsened in 26 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces compared with 2025, indicating an early and deepening nutrition crisis.

For the first time at this scale, UNICEF assessed child malnutrition alongside the lived experiences of food and nutrition insecurity among the same group of children across all provinces. The findings are intended to help identify risks earlier, before children become severely malnourished and require emergency treatment.

The study found several early warning signs, including reduced dietary diversity, skipped meals, and children eating less than they need or going hungry. Children under the age of two have been the hardest hit, accounting for 83% of severe acute malnutrition cases and 77% of moderate acute malnutrition cases.

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

"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 said.

Dr. Oyewale stressed that while treatment saves lives, greater investment is needed in prevention, particularly by improving the diets of young children and pregnant women.

According to the report, children living in severely food-insecure households are up to six times more likely to suffer from wasting during peak malnutrition periods.

UNICEF also warned that the crisis is being worsened by disease outbreaks, low immunization coverage, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services, as well as growing funding shortages and supply gaps, all of which are undermining children's health and increasing their vulnerability to malnutrition.

With the peak wasting season approaching, UNICEF called for urgent investment to protect children's diets, expand preventive nutrition services, and strengthen its First Foods Initiative, which prioritizes children aged six to 23 months.

"The window to act is narrowing," UNICEF said, urging immediate and flexible funding to reach vulnerable families before the crisis deepens further.