The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has warned that 1.7 million children in Afghanistan are at risk of death due to severe malnutrition, calling the situation “shocking.”
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Wednesday, Fletcher said food insecurity has worsened with the onset of winter, and several life-saving food distribution programmes have been suspended. He added that 1.1 million children currently lack access to essential aid, leaving them extremely vulnerable, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.
Fletcher noted that 303 nutrition service centres have shut down due to funding shortages, further limiting emergency treatment for malnourished children. He stressed that lifting restrictions on women and girls is critical for humanitarian operations.
He also criticised the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women working in UN offices, calling the restrictions “unacceptable,” and warned that they are undermining the delivery of essential aid. Fletcher urged the international community to provide additional funding to keep relief programmes running.
On December 7, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that hunger levels in Afghanistan are rising sharply as winter approaches. The agency cautioned that malnutrition among children and women could reach levels “not seen in recent years,” according to Khaama Press.
WFP Executive Director Carl Skau said the agency has been forced to cut food assistance from 10 million people to two million due to severe funding shortages. He warned that many children could face life-threatening conditions—and possibly death—from malnutrition and winter exposure.
The UN earlier reported that an estimated 3.5 million Afghan children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition. Humanitarian workers say Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most food-insecure nations, with drought, economic collapse and restrictions on aid deepening the crisis.
–IANS
