Emergency
Afghanistan
- 17.4 million
- people require urgent food assistance
- 4.9 million
- women and children expected to need treatment for malnutrition
- US$540 million
- urgently needed for WFP operations through to January 2027
Afghanistan is facing a deepening hunger and malnutrition crisis.
Nearly one-third of the population, or 13.8 million people, are projected to experience acute food insecurity, while 4.9 million women and children are expected to require treatment for malnutrition in 2026.
Twelve provinces are now experiencing critical levels of acute child malnutrition, the highest number ever recorded.
The crisis is being driven by a combination of conflict, unemployment, high food prices, reduced humanitarian funding and disruptions to supply routes. As aid cuts deepen, life-saving nutrition programmes are being scaled back just as needs are peaking.
Children are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 3.7 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year.
Without urgent support, more families will be pushed deeper into hunger and more children will be at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.
WFP urgently requires US$540 million to January 2027, to continue delivering life-saving food and nutrition assistance across Afghanistan.
What the World Food Programme is doing to respond to the Afghanistan emergency
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Food and nutrition assistance
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Due to a massive decline in funding, WFP has been forced to prioritize food assistance to only a fraction of the most vulnerable. With current resources, WFP can only reach 2 million people per month – far from covering all those in emergency-level hunger. This is down from the 4 million Afghans WFP supported last winter.
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Nutrition
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UNHAS