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Half of all young children in Afghanistan are experiencing severe food poverty: UNICEF launches ambitious “First Foods Afghanistan” to reverse the crisis
KABUL, 16 June 2025 – In response to alarming new findings revealing that 90% of young children in Afghanistan are living in food poverty—and half in severe food poverty—UNICEF, with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is launching First Foods Afghanistan, a major multisectoral initiative aimed at transforming our approach to food and nutrition systems to improve the diets of children under two.
“This is a crisis of silent suffering. Children in Afghanistan are not just malnourished—they are chronically deprived of the most basic building blocks of growth and development. Half of Afghan’s youngest children survive on just two food groups out of eight- day in day out. This puts them at high risk of malnutrition and even death, hence, to address malnutrition we should deliberately focus on improving the diets of young children in addition to services,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.
According to UNICEF’s 2025 Child Food Poverty Report, 3.5 million young children suffer from wasting, from which 1.4 million are at higher risk of mortality. Surprisingly, over 85% of these children are younger than 2 years of age. Unfortunately, more than 2.1 million children under the age of five are in food poverty in Afghanistan, with 1.2 million trapped in severe food poverty. These children are 33% more likely to experience stunting and developmental delays. Afghanistan now ranks fourth globally in rates of severe child food poverty.
The First Foods Afghanistan Initiative aims to reach 1.7 million children across all 34 provinces through a holistic, systems-based approach to ending child food poverty. The initiative will promote and encourage homegrown and local food production, and household preparation of nutritious complementary foods for young children within households' budget limits. It will also support local manufacturing of fortified complementary and therapeutic foods for prevention and treatment of malnutrition. By working across food, health, WASH, social protection and education services, engaging local communities, youth, and entrepreneurs, and by mobilizing community food networks, the initiative seeks to drive sustainable, locally led solutions to improve young children’s diets and break the cycle of malnutrition.
“Afghanistan should not only be growing food—it must now grow nutrition. We are shifting the focus from calories to nourishment through child sensitive food systems, and from addressing malnutrition solely through services to also prioritizing the actual foods young children consume. This integrated approach is the only sustainable path to breaking the cycle of malnutrition and poverty in Afghanistan.” - Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative, Afghanistan
“Helping Afghan children to have a better start in life, this initiative focuses on tackling some of the root causes of malnutrition in Afghanistan” said Robert Chatterton Dickson, Charge d’Affaires at the UK Mission to Afghanistan.
Call to Action
First Foods Afghanistan is not just a programme—it is a movement to redefine how the country addresses childhood malnutrition, amid worsening climate shocks, rising poverty, and deepening gender disparities. For this, we’ll partner with sister UN agencies, international financial institutions and private sector actors that are committed to improving child nutrition.
“Every Afghan child deserves a nutritious diet to support their healthy growth and development, so the UK is proud to partner with UNICEF on First Foods Afghanistan. We invite donors, partners, and communities to join UNICEF in this initiative to support young children with access to essential diverse foods in their crucial first years of life” said Robert Chatterton Dickson.
Link to Child Food Poverty Report
Link to First Foods Afghanistan Initiative
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For more information, please contact in Afghanistan:
UNICEF: James Elrington, jelrington@unicef.org
FCDO: Muthomi Gichaara, Muthomi.Gichaara@fcdo.gov.uk
Media contacts
James Elrington
UNICEF Afghanistan
Tel: +93 799 987 032
Email: jelrington@unicef.org