Last year we saw the highest surge ever recorded in Afghanistan, and this year, a staggering 3.7 million children will need malnutrition treatment," the World Food Programme's Country Director John Aylieff told a Geneva press briefing. Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year, he added. Funding cuts mean the U.N. agency only has the resources to treat one in every four children needing treatment for acute malnutrition, Aylieff said. Expulsion policies in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran have resulted in over 5 million returnees since late 2023, further straining limited resources, Aylieff said. "We foresee that acute malnutrition will be driven up further by the conflict as people are prevented from accessing health services," imperilling tens of thousands of children, said Aylieff.

Source: The Telegraph March 03, 2026 14:32 UTC