KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The World Food Programme (WFP) is unable to provide assistance to three out of every four children suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan due to severe funding shortages, the agency’s country director said.
John Aylieff, WFP country director for Afghanistan, told the Associated Press that 4 million children are acutely malnourished, marking the highest surge in malnutrition ever recorded in the country. “The lives of 4 million children are hanging in the balance,” he said.
Aylieff added hunger has contributed to rising child mortality, with the WFP recording more than 500 child deaths in recent months. “The aid cuts have been devastating,” he said.
Funding cuts have forced WFP to scale back operations sharply. Of the 17.4 million people facing acute hunger, the agency can now reach only 2 million, and even those receive reduced food rations.
Women face particular hardship under Taliban restrictions that bar them from most employment, leaving widows and female-headed households especially vulnerable. Aylieff highlighted an increase in suicide calls from desperate women unable to feed their children.
“As WFP, we’re getting more and more suicide calls from women because they just don’t know how to feed their children, and they don’t know where to turn,” the WFP country director said.
Afghanistan is grappling with one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies, driven by economic collapse, climate shocks, displacement, and limited access to food, healthcare, and basic services. The UN estimates that nearly 22 million people, primarily women and children, require humanitarian assistance in 2026 and has appealed for $1.7 billion to provide immediate, lifesaving aid.
Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that without sustained international support, vulnerable populations will face worsening health and nutrition outcomes in the coming months. The WFP’s appeal underscores the urgent need for increased funding to prevent further deaths and address the deepening food insecurity across Afghanistan.
The situation comes amid declining international aid to the country, raising concerns over the sustainability of critical programs aimed at alleviating hunger and malnutrition. Humanitarian organizations continue to urge donors to act quickly to prevent the crisis from escalating further.
