Afghanistan: Severe malnutrition on the rise among children
MSF calls for urgent funding and resources to support critical malnutrition needs
Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has witnessed an alarming increase in the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications requiring lifesaving treatment in our therapeutic feeding centres in southern Afghanistan.
“Children are reaching us far too late, often in critical condition with preventable medical complications,” says Ana Lilia Banda, MSF medical coordinator in southern Afghanistan. “This reflects not only worsening food insecurity, but also the breakdown of systems designed to detect and treat malnutrition at an early stage. An effective response requires a full range of malnutrition services – from outpatient services for [patients with] uncomplicated cases to inpatient care for critically ill children. Restoring these services is essential to prevent avoidable deaths.”
Funding cuts are contributing to alarming malnutrition rates
Between January and April 2026, the admission of severely malnourished children to the MSF-supported inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC) in southern Afghanistan increased by more than 30 per cent on average compared to the same period over the last three years — with most children being younger than one year old. This increase signals a deterioration in food security faced by people in Afghanistan and has placed significant strain on MSF’s capacity to respond effectively to people’s needs. MSF is urgently calling for the prioritization of funding and resources for nutrition support to avert further deterioration of the nutritional situation in southern Afghanistan.
“Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life followed by appropriate complementary feeding is essential to meet an infant’s nutritional needs. But when mothers themselves do not have enough to eat, how are they expected to feed their babies?”
Ana Lilia Banda, MSF medical coordinator in southern Afghanistan
Significant reductions in international funding since early 2025 have led to the suspension or closure of 445 health facilities, including 203 mobile health and nutrition teams in 2025, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These services previously played a key role in community-based screening, early detection and provision of care.
Malnutrition in mothers impacts their children
“Malnutrition is not only a medical issue, but also a social issue,” Banda says. “Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life followed by appropriate complementary feeding is essential to meet an infant’s nutritional needs. But when mothers themselves do not have enough to eat, how are they expected to feed their babies?”
Recurrent droughts have reduced crop yields and intensified food and economic insecurity. Meanwhile, border closures linked to regional geopolitical tensions have disrupted the supply chain of therapeutic food and increased food prices undermining its availability and worsening overall access to food for people, particularly affecting pregnant women and mothers.
“We are seeing many malnourished children less than one year of age, often accompanied by their mothers or caretakers who are also in need of care,” Banda says.
Since the beginning of 2026, admissions to the MSF-supported ITFC at Boost provincial hospital in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand reached a monthly record high when compared to the same period over the last five years. Between January and April 2026, admissions of severe acute malnourished children with medical complications exceded 1,500 children, more than double the number recorded during the same period in 2022.
Between January and April 2026, MSF’s ITFC in Kandahar admitted more than 570 malnourished children. An additional 300 plus patients were redirected to other health facilities. The demand for treatment is far greater than what MSF can support, even after the increase in our capacity.
The needs far outweigh MSF’s capacity
MSF has already scaled up its response in Helmand and Kandahar. However, with the seasonal peak in malnutrition now underway, we are deeply concerned that rising needs will continue to outpace the current humanitarian response.
MSF calls on donors, health authorities and relevant organizations to urgently prioritize and restore international and domestic funding for nutrition programs across Afghanistan. An uninterrupted supply of specially formulated food and essential medical supplies must also be assured. Without immediate action, more children will be left without access to the essential care they urgently need.
MSF in Afghanistan
MSF runs seven projects in Afghanistan — Bamyan, Helmand, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Khost and Kunduz — with a particular focus on delivering secondary healthcare services. Currently, MSF provides nutritional support for malnourished children in Helmand, Herat and Kandahar provinces. In 2025, 9,388 children were admitted to MSF-supported ITFC’s and 3,166 children were enrolled in outpatient therapeutic feeding centres.
