Save the Children warns that 3.7 million Afghan children under five will suffer acute malnutrition in 2026, as collapsing international funding forces hundreds of health clinics to close.
The Danish branch, Red Barnet, set out the warning in a press release. DR reports that hundreds of health clinics in Afghanistan have been forced to shut because international support has dried up.
International assistance to Afghanistan has dropped sharply in the years since the Taliban retook power. According to Red Barnet, humanitarian aid fell by almost 70 percent in four years, from 3.3 billion dollars in 2022 to 1 billion dollars in 2025. So far this year, 438 million dollars has been donated, covering about a quarter of the total need.
Around 600 health facilities have closed as a result of the cuts, affecting roughly two million children, Red Barnet says. Linxi News puts the number of people losing access to care at about four million, roughly half of them children.
Al Jazeera reports that the organization’s new analysis finds nearly one in ten Afghan children under five is acutely malnourished. Cases have risen by 14 percent over four years, and this year’s humanitarian response plan remains about 74 percent unfunded.
Ashish Damle, country director for Red Barnet in Afghanistan, says lifesaving humanitarian programs are threatened by a massive lack of funding. Per Damle, the absence of long-term development aid has major consequences for children, and the international community can either keep reacting once families reach breaking point or act now.
One clinic for 10,000 people
In northern Afghanistan, Red Barnet runs a clinic that is currently the only health provider for 10,000 people, treating more than 100 patients a day. Transport to hospitals is expensive for Afghan families, and if the clinic closes, people would face a seven-hour walk for treatment.
About 5,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in 2025, according to Red Barnet, which has worked in Afghanistan since 1976. The 3.7 million figure matches projections from UN agencies for 2026.
Why the warning comes now
The World Food Programme projects that 3.7 million children and 1.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding women will be malnourished in 2026. Close to one million children are expected to face severe acute malnutrition, based on Integrated Food Security Phase Classification estimates.
UN News reported in June 2026 that the UN’s 1.7 billion dollar appeal for Afghanistan was only 14 percent funded at mid-year, with 22 million people in need. Impact Policies links the funding drop to decisions by major donors, which it says produced the clinic closures now driving child malnutrition.
