Daijiworld Media Network - Kabul
Kabul, Aug 13: Afghan children are facing a worsening malnutrition crisis, with nearly one in 10 children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition as large numbers of refugees return from Pakistan and Iran, local media reported.
“Levels of wasting in children – or acute malnutrition – worsened in two thirds of provinces in the second quarter of 2026, compared to the same period last year, according to the UN, with current cases driven by increases in infectious diseases. This is the peak season for malnutrition in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained control five years ago,” said a statement issued by Save the Children, a UK-based international non-governmental organisation.
According to the organisation, acute malnutrition among children under five has increased by 14 per cent over the past four years, affecting 3.7 million children in 2026.
Nearly 600 health facilities have also been closed or suspended because of funding cuts, while humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan fell by almost 70 per cent from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025.
Save the Children Afghanistan Country Director Ashish Damle said worsening hunger, mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, displacement, disasters, conflict and prolonged drought were placing humanitarian resources under severe pressure, Ariana News reported.
“The world cannot look away. Severe hunger, the staggering number of returnees and mass internal displacement due to disasters, recent conflict and four years of drought are stretching limited humanitarian resources to the brink,” Damle said.
The Save the Children statement also noted that Afghanistan's population has grown by up to 12 per cent since September 2023, further increasing the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance as funding declines.
More than six million people have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan as both countries enforce requirements that Afghans must meet to remain there or face deportation, the NGO said, quoting a nutrition nurse.
The surge in returns is adding further pressure to an already strained health and humanitarian system, with children among those most vulnerable to the worsening crisis.