Acute malnutrition now affects 3.7 million children under five in Afghanistan, or nearly one in 10 young children, according to figures cited by Save the Children. The agency said the number is rising rather than stabilising.
The crisis is linked to shrinking humanitarian funding and the closure of about 600 essential healthcare facilities. Save the Children said levels of acute malnutrition worsened in two-thirds of Afghanistan’s provinces in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
What the figures show
Save the Children said acute malnutrition among children under five has increased by 14 percent over the past four years. United Nations figures cited by the agency show that nearly one in 10 Afghan children in this age group is now malnourished.
Acute malnutrition, also known as wasting, is a life-threatening condition in which a child becomes dangerously underweight for their height. It can follow a sharp fall in food intake or severe illness, causing the body to lose fat and muscle quickly.
How health-service closures are affecting children
Save the Children attributed much of the increase to a slowdown in humanitarian aid, which has forced about 600 healthcare facilities to close. Around 4 million people, including about 2 million children, previously depended on those services.
The agency said it has kept 14 health clinics open and is the only organisation providing healthcare to 10,000 people in mountainous areas of northern Afghanistan, highlighting the limited reach of remaining services.
Why funding has fallen
Humanitarian aid declined from $3.27bn in 2022 to $1bn in 2025, a reduction of almost 70 percent, according to Save the Children. More than halfway through 2026, the agency said, only $438m had been secured, leaving a 74 percent funding gap.
The decline followed the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 after US forces and their allies withdrew. Donors subsequently limited or redirected funding, tightened sanctions and imposed stricter conditions on aid operations. A Taliban ban on female humanitarian staff has also restricted agencies’ ability to deliver services to women and children.
Additional pressure from returns and displacement
Afghanistan’s population has increased by 12 percent since September 2023, largely because more than six million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran after both countries tightened conditions for Afghan refugees and increased deportations.
Save the Children said hunger, the return of large numbers of people, internal displacement linked to disasters and recent conflict, and four years of drought are placing further pressure on limited humanitarian resources. The agency’s Afghanistan country director, Ashish Damle, called for earlier action to protect children rather than waiting until families reach breaking point.
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