A recent report from Save the Children indicates that acute malnutrition among young children in Afghanistan has reached critical levels. According to United Nations figures cited by the organization, approximately one in ten infants and very young children in the country currently experience acute malnutrition, a condition characterized by sudden and severe nutritional decline that can be life-threatening. The proportion of affected children continues to rise rather than stabilize, with malnutrition worsening in two-thirds of provinces when comparing the second quarter of 2026 to the same period the previous year.
The scale of the crisis has grown substantially over the past four years, with acute malnutrition cases surging by 14 percent and now affecting approximately 3.7 million children. The deterioration in childhood nutrition is primarily attributed to a dramatic reduction in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. This funding decline has forced approximately 600 essential healthcare facilities to cease operations, affecting roughly 4 million people, half of whom are children who previously depended on these services. Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan has declined nearly 70 percent between 2022 and 2025, dropping from $3.27 billion to $1 billion. Through the middle of 2026, only $438 million in humanitarian funding had been secured, leaving a 74 percent gap in needed resources.
The funding shortage follows the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, which prompted international donors to reduce or redirect assistance. Additional complications include a Taliban restriction on female humanitarian workers, which has significantly impeded aid organizations’ capacity to deliver services to women and children. The Afghan population has also increased by 12 percent since September 2023, largely due to the return of more than six million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran as those countries tightened conditions for Afghan refugees and increased deportations.
Save the Children has maintained operations at 14 health clinics and serves as the sole healthcare provider for 10,000 people in mountainous northern areas. The organization’s leadership has emphasized that the international community faces a choice between responding only after humanitarian emergencies reach critical stages or implementing preventive measures to protect children’s wellbeing and futures.
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