Kabul, Afghanistan – The World Food Program (WFP) has appealed for $468 million in funding to provide life-saving assistance to millions of Afghans during the winter months, warning that hunger and malnutrition are worsening across the country.
In a statement resealed on Tuesday (December 16), the agency said it aims to support six million of the most vulnerable people to help them survive what it described as a harsh and unforgiving winter.
The WFP said more than 17 million people in Afghanistan are currently facing acute food insecurity, with both the scale and severity of hunger and malnutrition deepening. New food security data show that the number of people affected has risen by three million compared with last winter.
The agency also warned that child malnutrition is expected to increase, reaching nearly four million children. it said funding shortages are already affecting essential services, including treatment for severely malnourished children, stressing that child malnutrition is life-threatening and that child mortality could rise during the winter months.
“WFP has been warning for months about the clear signs of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and the latest data confirms our worst fears,” said John Aylieff, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan. “Our teams are seeing families skipping meals for days on end and taking extreme measures to survive. Child deaths are rising, and they risk becoming worse in the months ahead.”
The WFP said Afghanistan is facing a brutal winter amid multiple, overlapping crises, even as humanitarian assistance to the country continues to decline.
“We need to bring Afghanistan’s crisis back into the headlines to give the most vulnerable Afghans the attention they deserve,” added Aylieff. “We must stand with the people of Afghanistan who depend on critical support to survive, and deploy proven solutions towards a recovery with hope, dignity and prosperity.”
The agency warned that, for the first time in decades, it is unable to launch a significant winter response because of severe funding gaps.
