Afghanistan: One in Five Children Facing Crisis Levels of Hunger as Funding Cuts Reduce Food Aid

KABUL, (June 5, 2025) - About one in five children in Afghanistan could face crisis levels of hunger before October, with funding cuts reducing the amount of food aid available for families, Save the Children said.

Based on new research from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises – nearly five million children, or about 20% of children in Afghanistan, face 'crisis' or 'emergency' levels of food shortages.

Although the number of people expected to face food shortages this year is a significant improvement, Afghanistan is still seeing high levels of hunger. Funding for food assistance has been cut by 40%, with the average number of people targeted for aid before October 2025 reduced from 14% to 1% of the population^[1][2].

About 420 health facilities have closed in Afghanistan due to aid project suspensions and terminations, meaning about three million people no longer have access to primary healthcare^[3]. Before the funding cuts, more than 14 million people across Afghanistan already had limited access to healthcare^[4].

Save the Children lost funding for 14 health facilities in Northern and Eastern Afghanistan but is currently using alternative, short-term funding to keep them open. The loss of these 14 clinics would mean that every month, nearly 7,000 children could not be screened for acute malnutrition, and more than 27,000 people – including about 13,000 children - would lose access to healthcare in their villages, according to Save the Children analysis.

Dr Hashim* works in one of the 14 clinics, with his facility treating about 200 children for acute malnutrition. He said the nearest alternative health facility is an hour and twenty minutes away by car, and he fears without his clinic that, families will only seek medical help when their children are seriously ill:

"The economic condition of people in these villages Save the Children provides services [to], is very poor. The only source of their income is farming.

"Due to drought, they can't afford syrup to buy for a common illness, so how can they afford to treat malnutrition, which is a costly treatment? It is a costly treatment because of the distance from [the] nearest clinic."

Jamila* brought her 11-month-old daughter Karima* to the clinic, where she was treated for acute malnutrition. Jamila* said:

"If my child gets sick, and if this clinic is closed, it will be very difficult for us until we arrange the money. If there is no money, we can't do anything, and the child will have to stay at home in pain."

Save the Children treated more than 25,000 children for malnutrition in Afghanistan in 2024. Nearly 3.5 million children aged 6 to 59 months were projected to face acute malnutrition in Afghanistan between June 2024 and May 2025, including nearly 870,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition^[5].

Samira Sayed Rahman, Advocacy Director, Save the Children Afghanistan, said:
"Hunger and malnutrition are silent emergencies in Afghanistan, but they are preventable. When funding is terminated, it's not just numbers on a spreadsheet. It means families who were relying on food aid will go without. It means mothers have to choose between buying bread or taking a sick child to the doctor. No parent should ever face that choice.

"At Save the Children, we've redirected our limited resources to ensure 14 health clinics continue running after funding was pulled because children's lives depend on it. However, this is a stopgap, not a solution. We're doing what we can, but we cannot do it alone. We cannot look away. We cannot abandon children.

"The international community must act. We need sustained investment in the humanitarian response - not just to meet today's needs, but to protect children's futures."

Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children's rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters, running programs in 10 provinces and working with partners in an additional 11 provinces.

* Denotes name changed to protect identity

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References:

[1] https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159622/
[2] https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2025-december-2024
Calculation made using 9.5 million people in IPC 3+ - and total population of 46 million with children comprising 52% of the population, as in Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025.
[3] https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-impact-us-funding-suspension-humanitarian-response-19-may-2025
[4] https://www.who.int/news/item/18-08-2023-afghanistan-s-health-system-suffers-critical-underfunding--calls-for-donor-support#:~:text=To%20address%20the%20health%20emergency,provided%20between%202022%20and%202023.
[5]https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Afghanistan_Acute_Malnutrition_June2024_May2025_Snapshot.pdf