UN warns regional conflicts push Afghanistan's child malnutrition to record levels

The United Nations' World Food Programme says that the near‑total closure of the Durand Line border with Pakistan and the war involving Iran have driven up food and fuel prices and disrupted supply chains, worsening Afghanistan’s nutrition crisis. Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau noted a record rise in malnutrition cases in 2025 and warned that five million women and children could face life‑threatening under‑nutrition in 2026. If supply‑chain delays and cost hikes were avoided, the WFP could feed an additional one million at‑risk children. Supplies of fortified biscuits intended for Afghan schoolchildren had to be rerouted from Pakistan to Dubai and Iran, then diverted again through Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Georgia and Turkmenia, causing months‑long delays and higher expenses. Fundraising remains a challenge, with the agency receiving only about 8 % of its annual budget for Afghanistan. Skau described seeing long queues of mothers and children turned away from rural clinics, underscoring the humanitarian urgency.