UNICEF and WFP Joint Action Plan to Stop Child Wasting in Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan – UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) today launch a joint action plan to stop child wasting in Afghanistan, marking a decisive shift towards integrated, prevention-focused programming that reinforces the importance of maternal nutrition, local food solutions and the convergence of facility and community-based services. Above all, it reflects a renewed ambition to not only treat but also stop wasting by addressing its root causes and delivering results at scale for the most vulnerable children.
Afghanistan has been in the grip of one of the world’s most severe nutrition crises for five consecutive years. Nearly 3.5 million children under the age of five are affected annually, 10.3 per cent of whom are severely malnourished. With projections for 2025 indicating that the situation will deteriorate further, this initiative responds to the urgent need for more sustainable and community-based solutions.
“This is a turning point in our response to the malnutrition crisis in Afghanistan,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. “By prioritizing prevention and treatment of child wasting, we aim to stop child wasting in Afghanistan. And by putting community-based solutions at the heart of our efforts we empower these communities to save children’s lives and give them a better future.”
As part of their joint commitment to tackle child wasting in Afghanistan, UNICEF and WFP will ensure that combined interventions for both prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition are available for affected children and women. Prevention comes first where UNICEF and WFP will join efforts to accelerate actions to promoting better feeding practices and supporting access to local solutions to enhance access, availability and demand for nutritious foods; but when prevention fails, treatment is still critical where UNICEF is supporting therapeutic feeding programme for severe and moderate wasting cases at higher risk of mortality and WFP providing supplementary feeding programme for children and women with moderate wasting, while also supporting household food security.
“In 2025, Afghanistan is seeing the sharpest surge in child malnutrition ever recorded – a surge which correlates with a severe reduction in emergency food assistance to families since last year,” said John Aylieff, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan. “With a serious drought and the forced return of Afghans from neighbouring countries exacerbating an already fragile situation, the lives of millions of children are in jeopardy as Winter approaches.”
The action plan will be rolled out in a phased approached, starting August 2025, prioritizing districts with the highest levels of child wasting, acute food insecurity, and other risk factors. The initiative aims to increase effectiveness and efficiency in both prevention and treatment pillars, by reaching all children at risk of wasting with preventive interventions and to have enhanced coverage, quality and efficiency for therapeutic and supplementary feeding programmes. The joint action plan will enforce adaptation of the new WHO’s protocol on Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition by all nutrition sector partners.
The launch today underscores the determination of UN agencies, in alignment with the June 15 call for action on nutrition, to tackle all forms of malnutrition and prevent harm to the most vulnerable children and women in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is among 15 front-runner countries globally having the higher burden of child wasting globally, where UNICEF and WFP are committed to roll out the Joint Action to Stop Child Wasting partnership, representing a fundamental change in how UNICEF and WFP work together to address child wasting in humanitarian settings.