KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that over one million mothers and children in Afghanistan are no longer receiving nutrition assistance because of a massive funding shortfall.
In a post on X on Monday, August 26, the WFP stated that in Afghanistan, women are bearing the brunt and paying the highest price due to the assistance cuts.
The WFP says that around 4 million mothers and children are already malnourished and that without urgent funding, the situation will deteriorate further.
The humanitarian situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past years, making the country one of the world’s most critical crises.
The UN reports that nearly 24 million people, more than half of the population, including over 50% women and children, depend on humanitarian assistance this year.
Women and children face even greater challenges due to the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s education, employment, and mobility.
Previously, Save the Children reported that over 6 million children in Afghanistan—about six out of ten—will experience crisis or emergency levels of hunger this year. The agency also projected that nearly 3 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2024.
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies have grappled with a significant funding shortfall over the past three years. The UN reported earlier that only 25% of its $3.06 billion appeal for Afghanistan this year has been funded so far.
WFP says that this severe funding shortfall is one of the worst in recent years, significantly hindering the organization’s capacity to deliver aid to the most vulnerable individuals.
Last year, the WFP had to cut assistance to 8 million food-insecure people across Afghanistan due to a significant funding shortfall.
