Afghanistan

Afghanistan is gripped by three converging crises: escalating hostilities along the closed Pakistan–Afghanistan border triggering displacement, ripple effects of the Middle East crisis, and an unprecedented hunger and malnutrition emergency.

These factors, combined with a debilitating funding crisis, are choking the World Food Programme’s (WFP) operations: blocking supply routes, driving up operational costs and straining markets at the worst possible time.

A dangerous surge in hunger is leaving millions of people caught between a deepening crisis and fading hope. Close to one-third of the population – 13.8 million people — are projected to face acute food insecurity.

Malnutrition among women and children is projected to reach nearly 4.9 million in 2026 — a new high — as access to treatment becomes increasingly limited. Due to reduced funding, WFP can only provide food assistance to a fraction of those in need, reaching just one in four children requiring malnutrition treatment and one in three pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The crisis is being driven by a combination of persistent drought, economic distress, forced returns, earthquake shocks and shrinking aid.

The 2025 drought – one of the worst in a decade – has affected over half the country, causing widespread crop failures. Earthquakes in the east and north have added to humanitarian needs, leaving families without homes or livelihoods.

For the first time in decades, WFP lacks an adequate winter response – previously a lifeline for millions of Afghan families. 

Without the Pakistan border opening and urgent funding, Afghanistan faces a devastating hunger emergency that will spiral beyond control.

With immediate funding, WFP can launch a large-scale winter response — reaching communities fully dependent on food assistance and ensuring families do not go to bed hungry or fall deeper into crisis.

WFP urgently requires US$350 million to deliver life-saving food assistance to millions of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people through to October 2026.