Afghanistan Faces Worst Surge in Child Malnutrition, WFP Warns

Tone & Political Bias: Moderately Left-Leaning

Why: Emphasizes humanitarian concerns, donor cuts under the Trump administration, and climate impact—typically associated with progressive narratives.

What’s Happening

The World Food Program (WFP) has reported Afghanistan’s most severe surge in child malnutrition to date. Nearly 10 million people—around one-quarter of the country’s population—are suffering from acute food insecurity, with 1 in 3 children now stunted.

The UN agency says this dramatic increase is the result of multiple compounding factors: reduced emergency food aid, deportations from neighboring countries, and worsening climate conditions.

The Numbers

$539 million: The amount the WFP says it urgently needs to support Afghan families through January.
$15 million: Specific funding needed to help returnees from Iran.
10 million people: Number facing acute food insecurity.
1 in 3 children: Estimated to be stunted due to long-term malnutrition.
60,000: Afghans the WFP has supported upon return from Iran in just two months.

What’s Driving The Crisis

Cuts In International Aid

The WFP says one of the main drivers of the surge in child malnutrition is the sharp drop in emergency food assistance over the last two years, as donor funding declined significantly.

The United States, under President Donald Trump’s administration, cut off food aid to Afghanistan in April, worsening the crisis.
The U.S. had previously been the largest donor to WFP, contributing $4.5 billion out of $9.8 billion in global donations last year.

These cuts came despite longstanding U.S. foreign policy arguments that food assistance in conflict zones serves national security by reducing poverty, preventing extremism, and managing migration.

Mass Deportations From Neighboring Countries

Afghanistan is also grappling with mass returns from countries like Iran, which are deporting Afghans living there without legal status.

In the past two months, the WFP has supported 60,000 returning Afghans, though this is only a portion of the total number crossing the border.
The agency says it does not currently have enough funds to cover the full scale of the returnee crisis.

WFP Communications Officer Ziauddin Safi noted that $15 million is required to support all eligible returnees from Iran alone.

Climate-Related Disasters

Environmental changes are exacerbating hunger and displacement in Afghanistan.

According to Matiullah Khalis, head of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency, the country is experiencing drought, flash floods, water shortages, and shrinking arable land.
These issues are having a “profound impact” on people’s lives, particularly in rural areas, and are contributing to economic hardship and food insecurity.

Why It Matters

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s poorest nations, and its population is increasingly vulnerable to intersecting crises—political instability, environmental degradation, and loss of foreign assistance.

The WFP says its operations in Afghanistan are now critically underfunded, and without renewed donor support, the agency may be forced to scale back even further, despite rising humanitarian need.

What The WFP Is Calling For

Immediate donor funding of $539 million to continue essential food assistance through January.
Specific aid for returnees, especially those arriving from Iran.
Acknowledgement from the international community that continued disengagement risks a deeper humanitarian disaster.