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Acute malnutrition remains widespread and severe across several provinces in Afghanistan
Overview
Nearly 3.5 million children, aged 6 to 59 months, are suffering or projected to suffer acute malnutrition between June 2024 and May 2025 and require urgent interventions. This includes 867,300 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and almost 2.6 million cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) are expected to suffer acute malnutrition in the same period. Regarding the severity of acute malnutrition, between June and October 2024, a period considered to be current and reflecting conditions when data was collected, four provinces were classified in IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical) including Hilmand, Kandahar, Nuristan, and Paktika. Moreover, 24 provinces were classified in IPC AMN Phase 3 (Serious) including Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Logar, Panjsher, Ghazni, Paktya, Khost, Daykundi, Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul, Jawzjan, Faryab, Nangarhar, Kunar, Ghor, Badghis, Hirat, Farah, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul. The remaining six provinces were classified in IPC Phase 2 (Alert). In the Projection period, the overall situation is expected to largely stay the same till May 2025 with only one province (Balkh) expected to worsen from Phase 2 to Phase 3 and one province (Khost) expected to improve from Phase 3 to Phase 2.
The provinces with the highest number of malnourished children between June 2024 and May 2025 are Kabul, Helmand, Nangarhar, Hirat and Kandahar, which together account for nearly 42 percent of the country’s total malnutrition caseload.
Additionally, almost 1.2 million PBW are expected to suffer acute malnutrition in the same period, with the largest number in the provinces of Kabul, Badakshan, Hirat, Balkh and Nangarhar, which together account for approximately 40 percent of the total malnutrition caseload nationwide.
The major drivers of acute malnutrition in Afghanistan include inadequate quantity and poor quality of children diets, high prevalence of diseases (diarrhea, malaria, acute respiratory infection and measles outbreaks) and inadequate access to safe drinking water, sanitation and low hygiene practices. Additionally, reduced access to health and nutrition services, suboptimal breastfeeding practices, and high levels of food insecurity exacerbate acute malnutrition. Other risk factors like widespread shocks, including drought, flooding and population displacement continue to negatively impact the nutrition situation.