The number of people facing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan is set to rise above 19 million during the forthcoming winter season, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
The food crisis gripping Afghanistan is projected to affect millions of young children in 2027, the United Nations' humanitarian agency OCHA said.
More than four million babies and children under six will need treatment for acute malnutrition next year, it warned.
Between September and October, 15.9 million people -- or nearly one in three Afghans -- were facing food insecurity at crisis levels or worse, including 3.4 million in emergency conditions, the agency said.
The outlook is set to deteriorate further during the winter lean season from November to April.
"The number facing acute food insecurity is projected to rise to 19.2 million, of which five million are expected to face emergency levels of hunger," which is "one step away from famine", said OCHA's Afghanistan spokeswoman Olga Cherevko.
"We must act before winter, not after families have exhausted all the options.
"That means getting food assistance to
people in need, protecting livestock and productive assets, supporting farmers before critical planting windows close, and keeping essential health, nutrition and water services accessible."
The latest snapshot of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification projects that more than four million children aged six months to five years old will need treatment for acute malnutrition next year.
"Over one million of these children are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition," Cherevko told a press briefing in Geneva, speaking from Kabul.
"These numbers represent children whose parents cannot afford nutritious food and families whose ability to cope has been worn down by years of conflict, economic hardship, drought and other shocks."
- Aid shrinking -
In the midst of this hunger crisis, around one third of nutrition sites across the country have closed or have suspended services, "largely due to funding cuts".
"Once these services disappear, the consequences could be irreversible, particularly for children," Cherevko said
Afghanistan has seen a sharp decline in international aid since 2021, when the Taliban authorities returned to power.
They have imposed a severe version of Islamic law, including a series of rules limiting women's access to education and public life.
The Taliban government remains largely excluded from the international community, which criticises its repressive measures.
International aid to Afghanistan has dropped sharply, with the United Nations saying it had received less than 30 percent of the funding needed to provide life-saving assistance as of late August.
The humanitarian crisis has been further worsened by several natural disasters and the forced return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.
Cherevko said humanitarian aid could save lives but it could not compensate indefinitely for the absence of economic opportunity and public services.
The food crisis in Afghanistan was not simply about whether the food was available but also about whether people could access and afford it, she said.
While better rainfall and agricultural production this year have helped, one good harvest "cannot undo the damage of several years of drought".
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