Millions of Afghan children are at risk of worsening malnutrition this year as funding shortages, conflict and rising food costs continue to weaken humanitarian efforts, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned, raising fears that one of the world's worst nutrition emergencies could deepen further.
In an update shared on X on August 5, 2026, WFP said Afghanistan is expected to record nearly 3.7 million malnourished children this year, while another 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require nutrition support.
The agency warned that without urgent financial backing and humanitarian assistance, the crisis could worsen, leaving more families exposed to hunger, disease and preventable deaths.
According to WFP, the worsening situation is being driven by a combination of aid cuts, conflict, rising food prices and supply chain disruptions, all of which have made it harder to deliver life-saving nutrition assistance to vulnerable communities across the country.
The agency said the impact of the crisis can already be seen in homes where families are struggling to put nutritious food on the table.
At a health centre in southern Afghanistan, Sediqa, a mother of seven, collects nutritional supplements for her two malnourished daughters aged three years and 18 months. She says the family survives mainly on bread and tea because they cannot afford healthier meals.
"There is no other food. We don't have nutritious food like potatoes, rice, beans or pulses because we are poor."
WFP said Sediqa's experience reflects the hardship facing many families across Afghanistan, where unemployment, high food prices, conflict and reduced humanitarian assistance have pushed more children into malnutrition.
The agency warned that child wasting, where children are dangerously underweight for their height, has already reached record levels in one-third of Afghanistan's provinces and is expected to continue increasing unless more support is provided.
WFP also said recent reductions in humanitarian funding, together with logistical challenges linked to the Middle East crisis and border closures with Pakistan, have disrupted the delivery of specialised nutrition supplies.
As a result, nearly one million mothers and children have missed essential nutrition services over the past five months, placing many at greater risk of severe illness and death.
The UN agency warned that the outlook could become even more alarming if additional funding is not secured soon.
"Afghanistan is already gripped by one of the world's most severe and unrelenting malnutrition crises, and recent developments threaten to push these staggering numbers even higher – raising the terrifying prospect that the crisis could eclipse all previous projections and condemn countless more children and mothers to preventable death."
Families depending on health facilities say they have few options as food becomes increasingly unaffordable.
Farida, another mother receiving support, said her family relies entirely on nutritional supplements and medicine for her anaemic children because her husband's modest income cannot meet the cost of healthy food.
WFP said specialised nutritional products remain among the most effective ways of preventing and treating malnutrition in children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.
However, the agency warned that continued funding shortages are forcing it to reduce food assistance programmes, putting millions of vulnerable Afghans at greater risk unless donors step forward with urgent support.