KABUL: The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian crisis could have been significantly reduced if ongoing regional conflicts had not disrupted trade routes and increased supply costs.
A senior official of the World Food Programme (WFP) said the agency could have fed around one million additional malnourished children if transportation routes and supply chains had remained stable.
The official pointed to rising costs, border closures, and regional instability as key factors worsening the food crisis in Afghanistan.
According to WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau, Afghanistan is facing one of its most severe nutrition emergencies in recent years.
He said malnutrition cases surged sharply in 2025 following a combination of natural disasters, including a deadly earthquake and climate-related shocks, along with the return of millions of Afghans from neighbouring countries.
Skau described the situation as a “nutrition crisis,” warning that conditions are becoming even worse in 2026.
The WFP estimates that around five million women and children in Afghanistan are currently at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.
Officials also highlighted that regional instability, including conflict-related disruptions and border restrictions, has severely impacted humanitarian supply chains.
Aid shipments that were originally planned to enter Afghanistan through Pakistan had to be rerouted through multiple countries due to border closures.
Some food supplies reportedly took months to reach their destination after being diverted through the Middle East and Central Asia, significantly increasing transportation costs.
The WFP said these delays have reduced the efficiency of relief operations at a time when funding is already critically low.
The agency has so far received only a small portion of its required funding for Afghanistan this year, forcing difficult choices about distribution priorities.
Humanitarian workers on the ground described growing desperation among families, especially women arriving at rural health centres with severely malnourished children, often after long journeys.
Officials stressed that despite logistical and financial challenges, the demand for emergency food assistance continues to rise.
They warned that unless access and funding improve, the crisis could deepen further in the coming months, leaving millions more at risk of severe hunger.
