Nearly 4 million children in Afghanistan are facing acute malnutrition, as the humanitarian crisis in the country deepens due to a decline in international aid and the closure of hundreds of health centers.
According to United Nations data cited by Save the Children, about 1 in 10 Afghan children under the age of five is currently suffering from acute malnutrition. The situation has worsened in two-thirds of the country’s provinces in the second quarter of 2026, compared with the same period last year. Save the Children estimates that about 3.7 million children under the age of five were suffering from acute malnutrition in 2026, an increase of about 14 percent over the past four years. Acute malnutrition, also known as severe physical wasting or “wasting,” is a potentially deadly condition in which a child rapidly loses weight and muscle mass. It can be caused by a lack of food, but also by serious illnesses that weaken the body.
One of the main factors behind the worsening situation is the decline in humanitarian aid. According to Save the Children, the lack of funding has led to the closure of about 600 health centers, which previously benefited about 4 million people, half of them children.
Humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan has fallen by almost 70 percent in the past four years, from an estimated $3.27 billion in 2022 to an estimated $1 billion in 2025. In 2026, by mid-year, only about $438 million had been secured, leaving a funding gap of 74 percent. The situation has also been complicated by the massive return of Afghans from neighboring countries. More than six million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran, while population growth, internal displacement, droughts and natural disasters have added pressure on already limited services.
The crisis is also linked to political changes following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. Following the withdrawal of US and allied forces and the fall of Ashraf Ghani’s government, many international donors limited or changed the way they funded programs in Afghanistan.
Another obstacle is the limited participation of women in humanitarian work, which has made it difficult to provide health and assistance services to women and children. Meanwhile, reduced funding has forced many organizations to suspend or close programs. The United States, the European Union, and the World Bank have significantly reduced funding for major development and reconstruction projects, focusing more on emergency programs implemented through humanitarian organizations. Save the Children warns that, without an immediate increase in funding, the number of children at risk could continue to rise. The organization emphasizes that the combination of hunger, refugee returns, internal displacement, conflict, and years of drought is pushing humanitarian resources to their limits.
Afghanistan is facing a severe food and health crisis, with children under five years of age among the most vulnerable groups.