Malnutrition on rise in Afghanistan, Pakistan returnees increasing pressure: NGO
Kabul, Aug 13 (IANS) Afghan children are battling malnutrition as nearly one in 10 children under the age of five is suffering from acute malnutrition with the situation getting worse as large number of refugees return from Pakistan, local media reported.
“Levels of wasting in children – or acute malnutrition – worsened in two thirds of provinces in the second quarter of 2026, compared to the same period last year, according to the UN, with current cases driven by increases in infectious diseases. This is the peak season for malnutrition in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained control five years ago,” noted a statement issued by Save the Children organisation – a UK-based international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
According to it, the last four years have seen a surge of 14 per cent in acute malnutrition in children under five, affecting 3.7 million children in 2026; almost 600 health facilities have been closed or suspended due to funding cuts as humanitarian aid for Afghanistan fell by almost 70 per cent from USD 3.27 billion in 2022 to USD 1 billion in 2025.
“Ashish Damle, Save the Children’s Country Director in Afghanistan, said worsening hunger, mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, displacement, disasters, conflict and prolonged drought were placing humanitarian resources under severe pressure,” Ariana News reported.
“The world cannot look away. Severe hunger, the staggering number of returnees and mass internal displacement due to disasters, recent conflict and four years of drought are stretching limited humanitarian resources to the brink,” he stated.
The statement by Save the Children also highlighted that Afghanistan’s population has grown by up to 12 per cent since September 2023 – adding to increasing numbers in need as humanitarian funding is decimated.
“More than six million people have returned from Iran and Pakistan as both countries enforce criteria that Afghans must meet to remain in those countries, or face deportation,” the NGO quoted a nutrition nurse as saying.
–IANS
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