The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that with the approach of the peak hunger season, the situation of child malnutrition in Afghanistan has become more concerning, worsening in 26 out of 34 provinces compared to last year. The agency warns that 3.7 million children under five are at risk of malnutrition, stressing the urgent need for immediate action and investment to prevent the crisis from deepening.<\/p>\n
According to a UNICEF statement released on Sunday (July 12), reduced dietary diversity, skipped meals, eating less than required, and hunger in children are among the \u201cwarning signs\u201d documented in the latest report. UNICEF notes that millions of children in the country eat \u201ctoo little and too late,\u201d a condition that brings them dangerously close to severe malnutrition.<\/p>\n
The peak hunger season, which lasts from July to September, usually corresponds with a rise in cases of severe acute malnutrition. Wasting is a form of severe and potentially life-threatening malnutrition that leaves children extremely vulnerable due to lack of food, illness, or a combination of both. UNICEF\u2019s findings indicate that children in households facing severe food insecurity are up to six times more likely to suffer from wasting during this period.<\/p>\n
Tajuddin Owal, UNICEF\u2019s representative in Afghanistan, said that young children are approaching malnutrition even before the peak season begins. He emphasized that new evidence provides an opportunity for preventive action and warned that when families are forced to reduce meals or cut out nutritious foods, it signals a serious alert for the risk of severe wasting among children. According to him, treatment saves lives, but investing in prevention\u2014especially in the diets of young children and pregnant women\u2014is vital.<\/p>\n
UNICEF has identified other exacerbating factors including the spread of diseases, low vaccination coverage, inadequate water and sanitation services, and increasing gaps in funding and resource provision. The agency stresses that effectively addressing the crisis requires coordinated action across nutrition, health, water and sanitation, education, and social protection sectors.<\/p>\n
While the Taliban administration is responsible for managing service sectors, international organizations have repeatedly expressed concerns over restrictions, resource shortages, and the lack of sustainable programs to support vulnerable families. Continued deterioration of this situation could make it even harder for millions of children in need to access vital services.<\/p>\n
UNICEF warns that as the peak hunger season approaches, the window for action is narrowing and calls for immediate, flexible funding to reach families before food insecurity escalates into life-threatening malnutrition.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the United Nations has stated that nearly 22 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance this year. A total of $1.71 billion has been requested to address the situation, but only 16 percent has been funded halfway through the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNICEF warns 3.7 million Afghan children face worsening malnutrition as the hunger season peaks, urging urgent action and funding to prevent crisis escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-important-news","category-secondary-headline","category-social-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}