Afghanistan remains engulfed in crisis. One of the clearest and most alarming signs of this worsening emergency is malnutrition - widespread, deadly, and still rising.
’Hold your baby like this,’ the midwife says.
She demonstrates with a doll how to position an infant for breastfeeding: tucked close to the mother’s side, neck supported in the palm of a hand. Inside the small, carpeted room, around 10 women sit lined up against cushions along the walls. Each cradles a small child. Their faces show exhaustion and determination.
Children fighting severe malnutrition
These children are being treated at a therapeutic feeding unit run by Action Against Hunger, with support from the European Union, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. Suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, they require round-the-clock care.
Dedicated health staff provide intensive treatment using specialised therapeutic nutritional products, alongside continuous medical interventions, all free of charge. During their stay, mothers - often malnourished themselves - receive daily meals, and nutrition counselling to improve feeding practices, including breastfeeding and hygiene, to support their children’s recovery and development. Once discharged, the children continue to receive support through follow up appointments and ready-to-use therapeutic food.
A crisis with many causes
Prolonged drought has destroyed crops and livelihoods across nearly half the country, while a weakened economy and extremely high unemployment have left families with little means to survive. Recent earthquakes have left thousands homeless and pushed humanitarian needs in Afghanistan to new extremes. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), more than 17 million Afghans faced acute food insecurity this winter - 3 million more than last year. Nearly 4 million children are malnourished, and about 1 million of them are severely malnourished, requiring medical treatment to survive.
The situation is worsened by large-scale forced returns from neighbouring countries. Since last year, 2.8 million Afghans have been sent back from Pakistan and Iran, with nearly as many expected in 2026. Many arrive with only the few belongings they can carry and without a place to stay, straining already overstretched communities and services.
Life-saving support from the European Union
Amid this bleak landscape, humanitarian action remains a lifeline. The European Union is funding partner organisations like Action Against Hunger to help them deliver critical support across the country. Health and therapeutic feeding facilities continue to operate, staffed by trained professionals - including female health workers - ensuring care reaches women and children who need it most.
’We provide good care here,’ says a midwife and nutrition expert at the feeding unit. ’But we don’t have enough space for all children who need treatment. When we are at maximum capacity, we have to turn families away‘.
Afghanistan’s crisis is complex and ongoing, shaped by conflict, climate shocks, economic collapse, and displacement. With recent funding cuts from major donors such as the US, current needs far exceed available resources, the need for sustained humanitarian support has never been more urgent.
