Afghanistan: A crisis that demands our attention
Afghanistan is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a child right now. Years of conflict, drought, and economic collapse have pushed millions of families to breaking point. Since the Taliban took control in August 2021, children have faced a compounding set of crises - and the situation is getting harder, not easier.
Over 3.5 million children under 5 in Afghanistan are acutely malnourished, including 1.4 million suffering from life-threatening forms. Meanwhile, more than 2.2 million Afghan girls are banned from attending school beyond primary level - making Afghanistan the only country in the world to systematically deny girls access to secondary education. In total, an estimated 8.9 million children require emergency education support.
Aid cuts are making things worse. About 420 health facilities have closed in Afghanistan due to aid project suspensions and terminations, meaning around three million people no longer have access to primary healthcare.
But change is possible. And we're not stepping back.
What the data says
Afghanistan ranks among the countries with the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world. About one in five children in Afghanistan could face crisis levels of hunger before October, with funding cuts reducing the amount of food aid available for families. Afghanistan has one of the world's highest rates of stunting in children under 5, at 41%, while the rate of wasting - the extreme form of severe acute malnutrition - stands at 9.5%.
Drought is a major driver. Many rural communities depend entirely on rain-fed agriculture. When harvests fail, families have no fallback. Children - especially babies and toddlers - pay the heaviest price.
On education, more than 2.13 million primary school-aged children remain out of school as of 2024, with over 90% of 10-year-olds unable to read a simple text.
Updated April 2026
OUR WORK IN AFGHANISTAN
Save the Children has been working in Afghanistan since 1976. We have stayed through conflict, earthquakes, and political upheaval - because children can't wait. We currently operate in nine provinces directly and partner with organisations across a further eleven.
Since September 2021, we've reached more than 3.3 million people with our lifesaving services, including 1.8 million children.
In 2024 alone, we treated more than 25,000 children for malnutrition in Afghanistan. When funding for 14 of our health clinics in northern and eastern Afghanistan was cut, we used alternative short-term funding to keep them open - because the alternative was unthinkable.
Our programmes cover health and nutrition, community-based education, child protection, clean water and sanitation, cash assistance, and mental health support. We work alongside local communities, because lasting change has to be led by the people who live it.
Afghanistan Earthquake 2025
Life is dire for children in Afghanistan, more than five years since the Taliban took control of the country. Children are facing extreme hunger, exploitation, no education, endless disease outbreaks and, for many children, death.
Crippling drought and the economic crisis are pushing Afghanistan to the brink of collapse, with food prices, unemployment and poverty skyrocketing. 18.9m children and adults are facing severe food shortages.
Children are going to bed hungry night after night, and girls are reporting this almost twice as much as boys.
Eight million girls and boys in Afghanistan need support to stay in school. Secondary school girls are banned from attending classes and many teacher’s salaries have not been paid for months. The economic crisis is also pushing children out of school, with many households unable to pay for transport, supplies, or the burqas and hijabs now required for girls.
They’re exhausted, wasting away, unable to play or study – not to mention, sad, worried and scared.
Want to find our more about the Afghanistan earthquake? You can find out more and help children in Afghanistan and around the world by heading to this page.
Real stories from Afghanistan
Sultana*, 1, helped by a vital clinic
Sultana* was just 1 year old when her mother Belqis* noticed she had become too weak to move. Months of surviving on bread, tea, and occasional soup - her father's only income as a shepherd amounted to around £22 every 10 days for a family of eight - had left her severely malnourished. Drought had wiped out the family's crops, making basic food unaffordable.
When Belqis brought Sultana to the Save the Children clinic in their village, staff diagnosed her with severe acute malnutrition and enrolled her in a nutrition treatment programme. She received Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, medicine, and regular follow-up care. Belqis also received guidance on preparing more nutritious meals from what little food she had at home.
"My child was getting very thin and was losing her ability to move," Belqis said. "After going to this clinic, she is getting better now. She can move and smile."
The clinic - free of charge and within walking distance - is one of the facilities Save the Children is currently fighting to keep open despite funding cuts.
Sultana* at a Save the Children clinic in Afghanistan
Laila* and other children play outside after their class at Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space in a displacement camp in Balkh province, Afghanistan
Laila's* chance to smile
Laila*, 12, was forced to flee her home after her father was killed. She now lives with her mother and four siblings in a camp where families have to dig their homes under the frozen ground to survive the bitter winter cold.
To support her family, Laila* had to work cleaning people’s houses, earning as little as 10 Afghanis – that’s less than 8p – a day.
But together, we could give Laila the chance of the future she deserves. She attended a safe space we created for children in the camp – the only place where she can just be a child; where she’s free to learn, smile and play.
Now she can start to look forward to a bright future. “I would like to be educated and become a teacher,” she says.
A portrait of Ehsan*, 13, smiling
How you can help
Afghanistan's children need us to stay. In the UK and around the world, we make sure children keep safe, healthy and learning. By donating to Save the Children, you can help children get the food, healthcare and education they need and helps us respond faster when funding is cut and crises deepen.
Page last updated April 2026
*Names changed to protect identities
