Malnourished Afghan Children Lack Access To Life-Saving Treatment

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that in 2024, more than 600,000 children in Afghanistan received emergency nutritional support. However, the organisation warned that many malnourished children in the country still lack access to life-saving care.

On Tuesday, UNICEF stated on the social media platform X that malnutrition is both preventable and treatable, yet a significant number of Afghan children remain deprived of essential treatment.

The agency also highlighted its collaboration with the European Union last year, which enabled the provision of nutritional services to hundreds of thousands of Afghan children.

Malnutrition remains a severe crisis in Afghanistan, particularly among children. Widespread poverty, coupled with limited access to healthcare and adequate nutrition, continues to hinder both treatment and prevention efforts.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has predicted that the number of malnourished children in Afghanistan will rise to 3.5 million by 2025. UN reports indicate that over the past five years, approximately three million children under the age of five have suffered from malnutrition in the country.