Afghanistan Facing Near-Record Levels of Malnutrition, WFP Warns

Author: Vera Rousseff

May 21, 2026

HRRC urgently calls for the opening of humanitarian corridors through the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate the delivery of aid to Afghanistan and other countries affected by the Iran war. Additionally, we call on countries in the Global North to increase their financial contributions to aid agencies, such as the United Nations World Food Programme, in order to combat malnutrition in Afghanistan and in other countries facing food shortages.

Women in Bamyan, Afghanistan [Image credit: Farid Ershad via Unsplash]

A news release issued by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on May 14, 2026, warns of a malnutrition emergency in Afghanistan, emphasizing that mothers and children are most at risk. The hunger crisis is the result of several converging factors, from economic instability and regional conflicts to shrinking humanitarian funding.

WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said that the organization has been sounding the alarm for months. “This week I met malnourished mothers and children who travelled for over two hours to reach a WFP-supported clinic in Hisar Shahi camp, only to be turned away because we have no nutritious supplements left to give them,” Skau said at the end of a recent visit to the country. “What I saw in eastern Afghanistan is happening across the country and it is heartbreaking and totally unacceptable.”

Afghanistan’s already dire malnutrition crisis has been made worse by the Iran war. According to WFP, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the rise in oil prices have dramatically increased the cost of delivering food aid to Afghanistan and have delayed delivery times by approximately three weeks. Other conflict-affected countries in Africa and Asia, such as Sudan and Myanmar, have also been impacted. Last March, WFP estimated that approximately 45 million more people could face acute food insecurity or worse if oil prices remain above $100 USD a barrel and if the Iran war does not end by the middle of the year, thereby bringing the total number of people around the world facing acute food insecurity to record levels.

In Afghanistan, malnutrition is further exacerbated by an influx of people returning from Pakistan and Iran. In response to the recent border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which broke out in October of last year, Pakistani authorities have escalated arbitrary detentions, raids, and forced deportations of Afghan refugees. Nearly 2.8 million returnees entered Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran last year, placing additional strain on already under-resourced local communities. “I met single mothers and families with young babies — all of whom crossed with nothing more than what they can carry,” said Skau. “They need food, shelter, safety and immediate support.”

A series of recent natural disasters, including heavy rains, floods, and an earthquake, has further contributed to Afghanistan’s hunger crisis. Recent flooding has killed dozens of Afghans, damaged thousands of homes, and has led to road closures between the central and southern provinces, resulting in an increase in food prices.

The effects of the crises in Afghanistan have been compounded by dramatic cuts to humanitarian funding from traditional donors, which have made it even more difficult for NGOs to meet the increasing demand for aid. Last year’s reduction in foreign aid funding was the largest annual decrease on record, with reductions from Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France accounting for 95.7% of the total decline. The largest reduction came from the United States, which reduced its assistance by 56.9% and was responsible for three-quarters of the global decline.

Skau emphasized that the available funds are nowhere near enough, despite WFP doing everything it can to meet humanitarian demand. “Without urgent donor support and the passage of humanitarian cargo through key border points, these extraordinary efforts will fall desperately short of preventing a humanitarian disaster for millions of mothers and children,” he said.

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Glossary

• Acute food insecurity: when a person's inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.

• Arbitrary detention: the arrest and deprivation of liberty of a person outside of the confines of nationally recognized laws or international standards.

• Compound: to make a problem or difficult situation worse.

• Converge: to come together and unite in a common interest or focus.

• Deportation: the action of forcing someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law.

• Dire: very serious or extreme.

• Exacerbate: to make something that is already bad even worse.

• Foreign aid: the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population.

• Global North: the United States, Canada, the countries of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.

• Humanitarian: involved in or connected with improving people’s lives and reducing suffering.

• Humanitarian corridors: agreements between parties to an armed conflict to allow for safe passage for a limited time in a specific geographic area. They can allow civilians to leave, humanitarian assistance to come in or allow for the evacuation of the wounded, sick or dead.

• Influx: the fact of a large number of people or things arriving at the same time.

• Malnutrition: the inability to take in enough food, or to fully utilize the food you eat.

• NGOs (non-governmental organizations): mission-driven advocacy or service organizations in the nonprofit sector.

• Refugee: A person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.

• Strait of Hormuz: a narrow passage of water between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It is used to transport a number of valuable commodities – most notably, oil.

• WFP (World Food Programme): an organization established in 1961 by the United Nations (UN) to help alleviate world hunger.