World Food Programme: Afghanistan Faces the Most Severe Child Malnutrition Crisis

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The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that Afghanistan is currently witnessing the most severe rise in child malnutrition cases.

In a report, the organization stated that nearly 10 million people, equivalent to one-fourth of Afghanistan’s population, are experiencing severe food insecurity, and one in every three children in the country is suffering from stunting or growth delays caused by malnutrition.

The World Food Programme has identified the reduction in emergency aid over the past two years as the main driver of this crisis and stated that decreased financial support from donor countries has had a direct impact on the condition of children.

This comes as the United States, the largest financial contributor to the World Food Programme, halted food assistance to Afghanistan in April. Last year, the U.S. had provided 4.5 billion dollars out of the programme’s total budget of 9.8 billion dollars.

In addition to reduced aid, the forced return of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries has also worsened the food crisis in the country. The World Food Programme reported that in the past two months alone, it has assisted 60,000 returnees from Iran, while thousands of others still remain without access to aid.

Ziauddin Safi, the organization’s communications officer, stated that at least 15 million more dollars are needed to assist all eligible returnees from Iran. He also added that the World Food Programme needs 539 million dollars in funding by January to continue providing food assistance to vulnerable families across Afghanistan.