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// DOSSIER — severe-funding-shortfalls-exacerbate-child-malnutrition-crisis-afghanistan
Severe Funding Shortfalls Exacerbate Child Malnutrition Crisis in Afghanistan
REL_TIME: 14 Aug 2026 13:13Z · LANG: EN
Nearly 3.7 million Afghan children under five—representing nearly one in 10—are suffering from acute malnutrition in 2026, marking a 14 percent surge over four years. The growing crisis is largely driven by severe cuts in international humanitarian aid, which fell from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025, leaving a 74 percent funding gap halfway through 2026. The aid shortfall has forced the closure or suspension of nearly 600 essential healthcare facilities, depriving four million people of vital medical services. The health emergency is further compounded by four years of drought, natural disasters, Taliban restrictions on female aid workers, and a 12 percent population increase driven by the forced return of over six million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan.
// Background
Following the US military withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, international donors sharply curtailed direct financial assistance, imposed stricter sanctions, and froze Afghan state assets held abroad. Prior to 2021, foreign aid heavily subsidized Afghanistan's health sector and public development projects. The sudden drop in external assistance, combined with structural economic constraints, repeated climate shocks, severe drought, and strict domestic governance policies, has eroded the country's social safety nets and healthcare infrastructure.
// Key Developments
- Acute malnutrition affects 3.7 million children under five in Afghanistan in 2026, a 14 percent increase over four years.
- Humanitarian aid dropped by almost 70 percent from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025, with only $438 million secured halfway through 2026.
- Funding cuts have forced nearly 600 essential health facilities to close, cutting off primary healthcare access for four million people.
- More than six million Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023, expanding the national population by 12 percent.
- Save the Children operates 14 remaining clinics, serving as the sole healthcare provider for 10,000 people in remote northern mountainous regions.
// Timeline
-
The Taliban takes control of Afghanistan following US troop withdrawal, leading major donors to freeze state assets and restructure aid channels.
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Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan reaches $3.27 billion.
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Tighter refugee regulations in Pakistan and Iran trigger mass deportations, eventually returning over six million Afghans and raising the domestic population by 12 percent.
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Annual humanitarian assistance drops to $1 billion; health facility suspensions begin affecting hundreds of thousands of patients.
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Acute child malnutrition worsens in two-thirds of Afghanistan's provinces compared to the same period in 2025.
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Save the Children reports that 3.7 million children under five face acute malnutrition, nearly 600 health facilities have shut, and a 74 percent funding shortfall remains for 2026.
// Perspectives
[Save the Children]
Warns that collapsing humanitarian funding and facility shutdowns threaten millions of young lives and calls for immediate international donor intervention.
[International Donors (including US and EU)]
Reduced direct foreign aid, froze state assets, and shifted away from large-scale development programs toward restricted emergency humanitarian aid delivered via NGOs following the Taliban takeover and policy restrictions.
[Taliban Administration]
Enforces operational restrictions, including a ban on female humanitarian workers, which restricts aid agencies' ability to deliver health services to women and children.
// Quotes
“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.”
“The international community now faces a choice: Continue responding only after families reach breaking point, or act early enough to protect children’s lives, rights and futures.”
“Before this clinic was established, people had to travel to the district clinic, which could take several hours by donkey or motorbike, or to the city hospital, which was often almost inaccessible.”
“As he is the youngest child in the family, when he is unwell, the whole family becomes worried and does everything possible to make sure he recovers and stays healthy, active, and happy.”
