Afghanistan faces severe humanitarian crisis and malnutrition surge

humanitarian crisis acute malnutrition Taliban rule food insecurity aid reduction

Five years after the Taliban's takeover, Afghanistan is facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis characterized by widespread hunger, malnutrition, and declining international aid. Approximately 21.9 million people require humanitarian assistance in 2026, with over 17 million experiencing acute food insecurity.

Children are particularly vulnerable; nearly 3.7 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, a figure that has risen by 14 percent since 2022. This surge is attributed to the closure of nearly 600 essential healthcare facilities caused by a drastic reduction in humanitarian funding, which has fallen by approximately 70 percent since 2022.

Human rights organizations have also documented severe abuses, including at least 2,745 instances of public flogging between February 2022 and April 2026. Additionally, Amnesty International has called for an end to deportations to the country, citing the deteriorating human rights situation and the systemic disenfranchisement of women and girls.

Entities

Afghanistan · Amnesty International · Bündnis Zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen · Kindernothilfe · Save the Children · Taliban · United Nations World Food Programme · World Food Programme

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] In Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, Action Against Hunger expanded its therapeutic feeding unit capacity from 45 to 118 beds. www.ariananews.af
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Therapeutic Feeding Unit in Kabul recorded 142 new admissions in June 2026, a 149 percent increase from 2025. www.ariananews.af
[● 3 SOURCES] Approximately 3.7 million children in Afghanistan are affected by acute malnutrition. dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de
[● 3 SOURCES] Nearly one in 10 Afghan children under the age of five is suffering from acute malnutrition. dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de
[● 2 SOURCES] Acute malnutrition in children under five has increased by 14 percent over the past four years. dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de
[● 2 SOURCES] Humanitarian aid for Afghanistan fell from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025. dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de
[● 2 SOURCES] Approximately 600 essential healthcare facilities have closed due to a lack of funding. dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de
[○ 1 SOURCE] For 2026, only 390 million euros of the required 1.48 billion euros in aid have been pledged. www.presseportal.de
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nearly six million people have been forced to return to Afghanistan from neighboring countries like Iran since 2023. www.presseportal.de
[○ 1 SOURCE] At least 2,745 people were documented as having been publicly flogged in Afghanistan between February 2022 and April 2026. www.finanznachrichten.de
[○ 1 SOURCE] The World Food Programme had to turn away nine out of ten acutely hungry people in Afghanistan during the first half of the year. www.zdfheute.de
[● 3 SOURCES] Humanitarian aid funding for Afghanistan has decreased by more than two-thirds since the Taliban took power. www.zeit.de · dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.presseportal.de