Archive · 25 Aug 2026
UN Warns One Million Afghan Children Face Starvation
Many children in Afghanistan are not getting enough healthy food.
UNICEF says one million children are dangerously malnourished and could die without quick treatment.
In total, 3.7 million children are suffering from wasting.
Babies and children under two make up a large share of the most serious cases.
Poor nutrition can lead to illnesses such as diarrhea and breathing infections.
Drought, floods, economic problems and returning families are making the situation worse.
Hospitals in some areas have more severely malnourished children than they can treat.
Aid programs are also losing money and more than 100 treatment sites have closed.
UNICEF is asking for faster help before more children become critically ill.
UNICEF says one million Afghan children suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
A total of 3.7 million children across Afghanistan are acutely malnourished, according to UNICEF.
More than half a million children have been hospitalized this year for moderate or severe wasting.
Over 100 treatment sites for severe wasting have closed since 2025 amid international aid cuts.
UNICEF’s $180 million Afghanistan nutrition program is only 22 percent funded.
- Who
- UNICEF, represented in Afghanistan by country representative Tajudeen Oyewale, warned about the condition of Afghan children.
- What
- The United Nations warned that one million children in Afghanistan face life-threatening severe acute malnutrition, within a total of 3.7 million children suffering from wasting.
- When
- The warning was issued Tuesday; the article also reports that more than half a million children have been admitted to hospitals so far this year.
- Where
- Across Afghanistan, with particularly severe shortages reported in parts of southern Afghanistan.
- Why
- The crisis is linked to inadequate food, economic collapse, drought, floods, regional instability, disrupted cross-border trade, returning Afghan families and international aid cuts.
- Children with wasting
- 3.7 million children across Afghanistan, according to UNICEF.
- Severe acute malnutrition
- One million children are suffering from the life-threatening severe form.
- Youngest children
- Children under two account for more than 80 percent of severe acute malnutrition cases.
- Hospital admissions
- More than half a million children have been admitted this year for high-risk moderate and severe wasting.
- Treatment-site closures
- More than 100 sites treating severe wasting have closed since 2025.
- UNICEF funding
- The Afghanistan nutrition program is estimated to cost $180 million this year and is 22 percent funded.
- Severe-case increase
- Admissions rose from around 6,000 in one cited July period to more than 8,000 in the following July period.