More than 500,000 children in Afghanistan are at risk of malnutrition in 2025, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.
In a statement, the UN said one of the reasons for the alarming situation is climate extremes, which “have limited people’s ability to feed their families.”
According to a recent report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly half of Afghanistan’s population – about 22.9 million people – will require humanitarian aid this year to address both chronic and acute needs.
Afghanistan’s fragile economy, ongoing natural disasters and climate-induced shocks, along with regional political instability, continue to impede recovery from decades of conflict, the report noted.
Since the Islamist Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan does not have access to its foreign reserves in Western banks, further exacerbating the country’s economic crisis. Unemployment and poverty affect around 48% of the population, according to the UN.
The country remains highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. More severe flooding is anticipated in 2025, which like in previous years, is expected to destroy homes, agricultural land and displace communities, further worsening the already dire humanitarian situation.
