WFP warns of looming catastrophe as 8 Million Afghans go without food aid

The World Food Programme has issued a stark warning over Afghanistan’s deepening hunger crisis, urgently appealing for $555 million to continue life-saving food assistance for millions at risk.

A growing hunger and nutrition crisis in Afghanistan is putting millions of lives at risk. The World Food Programme says it urgently needs 555 million dollars to continue its operations over the next six months.

According to WFP nearly 15 million people, almost a third of the population, need emergency food assistance just to survive. But right now, the WFP can only reach just over 6 million, leaving more than 8 million people without help, including over 2 million women and children.

Eight in ten Afghan families can’t afford a minimally nutritious diet. And three in four are forced to borrow money just to buy basic groceries.

This crisis hits women and children hardest. WFP expects 3.5 million children under five to suffer from malnutrition this year, a figure not seen in four years. Already, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished and urgently need support.

Last year, WFP assisted nearly 10 million women and children, treating 1 million mothers and 1.4 million children for malnutrition. But severe funding cuts are forcing the agency to scale back. Children under two now receive support, while older toddlers go without. Pregnant women are getting only half the food they need.

Without urgent action and funding, the World Food Programme warns that a generation of Afghan children could face permanent health consequences, or worse. The time to act, they say, is now.

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