A new report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), released on Sunday, highlights that child food and nutrition insecurity is one of the primary drivers putting 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan at increased risk of malnutrition. The report underscores the urgent need to protect children’s diets and take action earlier to prevent life-threatening wasting.
“Young children in Afghanistan are being pushed closer to malnutrition before the peak season has even begun,” said Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.
“This new evidence gives us an opportunity to act before children reach the point of severe malnutrition.”
At this scale for the first time, UNICEF in Afghanistan has measured child malnutrition alongside the lived experience of early childhood food and nutrition insecurity in the same group of children across all provinces. This captures early warning signs, such as reduced food variety, skipped meals, children eating less than they need, and children going hungry.
The report comes as Afghanistan enters a peak wasting season. Recent data show that wasting has worsened in 26 of the country's 34 provinces compared to last year. This deterioration is occurring before the July to September peak period, signaling an early and deepening crisis.
According to the report, which draws on data from over 37,000 children, children under two years of age are disproportionately affected. They account for 83 percent of severe acute malnutrition cases and 77 percent of moderate acute malnutrition cases.
“When families begin reducing meals or cutting back on nutritious foods, it is not only a sign of hardship. It is a warning that a child may soon become dangerously wasted,” Oyewale said.
“Treatment saves lives, but we must also invest in prevention, starting with the diets of the youngest children and pregnant women.”
The latest alert shows why the response must go beyond nutrition services alone. In addition to poor diets among young children and rising food insecurity, worsening malnutrition in Afghanistan is being driven by disease outbreaks, low immunization coverage, inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services, as well as growing funding and supply gaps.
UNICEF warns that these pressures together are increasing children’s vulnerability to wasting, underscoring the need for coordinated action across nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, education, and social protection services.
Wasting is an acute and potentially life-threatening form of malnutrition. It means a child is too thin for their height, often due to recent food deprivation or illness, or both. Without timely care, it can quickly become life-threatening.
The new analysis shows that children in severely food-insecure households are up to six times more likely to suffer from wasting during peak malnutrition periods.
UNICEF is calling for urgent investment to protect young children’s diets and prevent more children from becoming malnourished, particularly before the peak wasting season, with a focus on children aged 6 to 23 months.
“With the peak wasting season approaching, the window to act is narrowing. The warning signs are visible earlier, and the response must come earlier too. Urgent, flexible funding is needed now to help UNICEF and partners reach families before child food and nutrition insecurity becomes life-threatening malnutrition,” the UN agency said.
The UNICEF report comes as Afghanistan continues to experience one of the world's most complex humanitarian crises. Nearly half of the population, or almost 22 million people, are in need of assistance. Of those in need, over 11.6 million are children. The situation is further complicated by insecurity, economic instability, climate-related shocks, significant population displacement, and substantial funding shortages.
Further information
Full text: Too Little, Too Late: The Diet Crisis Facing Young Children in Afghanistan, UNICEF, report, published July 12, 2026
https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/media/13681/file/Too%20Little%20Too%20Late_June%202026.pdf.pdf