UN warns of 'brutal winter' as more than 17 million Afghans face acute hunger

More than 17 million people in Afghanistan are facing acute food insecurity this winter, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

This represents a sharp increase from 14.8 million last year, as reductions in international humanitarian funding have forced aid agencies to scale back operations.

New figures from the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report show that three million more people are experiencing acute hunger or worse compared with last year. The WFP said the situation is expected to deteriorate further as winter deepens.

John Aylieff, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan, said the data reflects what teams are already seeing on the ground.

“WFP has been warning for months about the clear signs of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and the latest data confirms our worst fears.” he said.

He added that families are resorting to extreme measures to survive. “Our teams are seeing families skipping meals for days on end,” Aylieff said.

“Child deaths are rising, and they risk becoming worse in the months ahead.”

The WFP warned that child malnutrition is projected to affect nearly four million children in the coming year, at a time when access to treatment is shrinking.

“All key indicators point to a brutal winter season ahead for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable families,” the agency said.

Save the Children, another aid organisation, citing its own analysis of the IPC data, said just over nine million children, that is 36% of all children in Afghanistan, are expected to face crisis or emergency levels of hunger before March 2026.

Samira Sayed Rahman, Programme Development and Advocacy Director for Save the Children Afghanistan, said,

“The increase in children expected to face severe levels of hunger and malnutrition this winter should sound an alarm.”

She added, “As winter bites, more families will be forced to make agonising choices, including pulling children out of school or sending them to work, just to afford a single meal.”

The agenycy said it urgently needs US$468 million to reach six million people over the next six months. “We must stand with the people of Afghanistan who depend on critical support to survive,” Aylieff said.

The WFP, which provides emergency food assistance and nutrition support, including therapeutic feeding for malnourished children and pregnant women, says it is operating with about 40% less funding globally than required.

The funding crisis has been driven by reduced contributions from major donor countries, including the U.S. and several European states, amid wider cuts to overseas aid budgets and shifting foreign aid priorities, United Nations officials say.

The shortfall has led to reduced rations, limited coverage and the suspension of preventive nutrition programmes in Afghanistan and other crisis zones.

Nearly 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are currently acutely malnourished, while an additional 1.5 million are assessed to be at low to moderate risk. Aid agencies also estimate that about two million pregnant and breastfeeding women will require treatment for malnutrition.

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Humanitarian organisations warn that without urgent funding and sustained access for aid delivery, the situation in Afghanistan will continue to deteriorate as winter sets in, placing millions of lives at increasing risk.

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