{"id":35960,"date":"2026-07-13T16:38:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/afghanistan-3-7-million-young-lives-at-risk-of-malnutrition-unicef-warns\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:38:54","slug":"afghanistan-3-7-million-young-lives-at-risk-of-malnutrition-unicef-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/afghanistan-3-7-million-young-lives-at-risk-of-malnutrition-unicef-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan: 3.7 million young lives at risk of malnutrition, UNICEF warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The warning comes in a new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF<\/a>), published on Sunday, which said that child food and nutrition insecurity\u00a0is\u00a0among\u00a0the main drivers of undernutrition\u00a0in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wasting is\u00a0the most immediate,\u00a0visible\u00a0and life-threatening form of malnutrition<\/strong>, and is caused by recent food deprivation, illness, or both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Children suffering from the condition are\u00a0too thin for their height\u00a0and their\u00a0weak\u00a0immune systems\u00a0leave them vulnerable to developmental delays,\u00a0disease\u00a0and death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A deepening crisis<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The report,\u202fToo Little, Too Late: The Diet Crisis Facing Young Children in Afghanistan<\/em><\/a>, was released as the country enters a peak wasting season\u00a0from July to September.\u00a0\u00a0Recent data\u00a0shows\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0worsened\u00a0across 26 out of 34 provinces compared with 2025,\u00a0indicating\u00a0an early and deepening crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the first time at this scale in Afghanistan, UNICEF measured child malnutrition alongside the lived experience of food and nutrition insecurity among the same group of children across all provinces.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new findings\u00a0aim\u00a0to help\u00a0identify\u00a0risk\u00a0earlier<\/strong>, before\u00a0children become severely malnourished and require urgent treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study points to early warning signs such as reduced food variety, skipped meals, and children eating less than they need or going hungry.\u00a0Children under age two have been hardest hit, accounting for 83 per cent of severe acute malnutrition cases<\/strong>\u00a0and 77 per cent of moderate acute malnutrition cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Invest in prevention\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\u201cYoung children in Afghanistan are being pushed closer to malnutrition before the peak season has even begun,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0Dr. Tajudeen\u00a0Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen families begin reducing meals or cutting back on nutritious foods, it is not only a sign of hardship. It is a warning that a child may soon become dangerously wasted.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u00a0noted that although\u00a0treatment saves lives,\u00a0\u201cwe must also invest in prevention, starting with the diets of the youngest children and pregnant women<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lack of water\u00a0and\u00a0funding<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The new analysis shows that children in severely food-insecure households are up to six times more likely to suffer from wasting during peak malnutrition periods.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover,\u00a0UNICEF\u2019s\u00a0latest\u00a0Afghanistan Nutrition Cluster alert<\/a>\u00a0underscores why\u00a0response\u00a0must go beyond nutrition services alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to poor child diets and rising food insecurity, worsening malnutrition is also linked to disease outbreaks, low\u00a0immunization\u00a0coverage, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services, and growing funding and supply gaps\u00a0\u2013 all of which\u00a0are weakening children\u2019s health and increasing their vulnerability to wasting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018The window to act is narrowing\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

With the peak wasting season approaching, UNICEF is calling for urgent investment to protect young children\u2019s diets and prevent more youngsters from becoming malnourished.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Action also\u00a0includes scaling-up in its\u202fFirst Foods Initiative<\/a>,\u00a0prioritising\u00a0children aged\u00a0six\u00a0to\u00a023 months, strengthening preventive nutrition services, and ensuring better alignment of essential services around children\u2019s nutrition needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe window to act is narrowing,\u201d UNICEF said,\u00a0stressing\u00a0that \u201cthe warning signs are visible earlier, and the response must come earlier too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agency\u00a0underscored\u00a0the need for urgent, flexible funding now<\/strong>\u00a0to reach families before the crisis deepens further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The warning comes in a new\u00a0report\u00a0by the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), published on Sunday, which said that child food and nutrition insecurity\u00a0is\u00a0among\u00a0the main drivers of undernutrition\u00a0in the country.\u00a0 Wasting is\u00a0the most immediate,\u00a0visible\u00a0and life-threatening form of malnutrition, and is caused by recent food deprivation, illness, or both.\u00a0 Children suffering from the condition are\u00a0too thin for their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11611],"tags":[9290,7669,8147,1226,3729,17153,954,640],"class_list":["post-35960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spyballoon-global-news","tag-afghanistan","tag-lives","tag-malnutrition","tag-million","tag-risk","tag-unicef","tag-warns","tag-young"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/2026\/07\/13-07-2026-UNICEF-Afghanistan.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg",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GLOBAL NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The warning comes in a new\u00a0report\u00a0by the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), published on Sunday, which said that child food and nutrition insecurity\u00a0is\u00a0among\u00a0the main drivers of undernutrition\u00a0in the country.\u00a0 Wasting is\u00a0the most immediate,\u00a0visible\u00a0and life-threatening form of malnutrition, and is caused by recent food deprivation, illness, or both.\u00a0 Children suffering from the condition are\u00a0too thin for their…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35962,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35960\/revisions\/35962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}