OCHA: 4.9 Million Mothers and Children in Afghanistan Need Nutrition Support
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, has announced that around 4.9 million mothers and children in Afghanistan will need nutrition support in 2026.
The agency warned that timely action could save the lives of many mothers and children and prevent the malnutrition crisis from worsening.
OCHA said on Monday (20 July) that millions of mothers in Afghanistan continue to fight to protect their children’s health and future despite the risk of malnutrition.
According to United Nations figures, nearly 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan will face acute malnutrition this year.
Of these, around 942,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and face a serious risk of death. Around 1.2 million pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers will also face acute malnutrition.
The World Food Programme says Afghanistan is experiencing the sharpest rise in malnutrition ever recorded in the country. According to the agency’s estimates, around 17.4 million people face severe food insecurity.
The agency has identified repeated droughts, the economic crisis, the forced return of migrants, earthquakes and declining humanitarian assistance as the main factors driving hunger and malnutrition in Afghanistan.
Funding cuts have also limited mothers’ and children’s access to treatment. The World Food Programme says that under current conditions, it can provide services to only one quarter of children who need treatment for malnutrition and one third of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers in need of assistance.
Women and children are among the groups most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition in Afghanistan. Declining international aid, widespread poverty and Taliban restrictions on women’s lives and employment have further weakened families’ ability to obtain sufficient food and access healthcare services.
