At least 26 children have died of malnutrition in the northern province of Badakhshan over the past eight months, according to the head of the provincial hospital.
Shafiqullah Hamdard, the hospital director, confirmed the deaths, noting that the children had been suffering from severe malnutrition. Since the start of the Afghan solar year on March 22, 2024, the hospital has admitted 326 children under the age of five with malnutrition-related conditions, Hamdard said.
While describing the death toll as within the “normal range” compared to the previous year, the figures underscore the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
United Nations agencies have previously warned of worsening malnutrition across the country. The World Food Program recently announced that more than one million Afghan mothers and children have lost access to critical nutrition assistance due to severe funding shortages.
In a related health crisis, the World Health Organization reported in July that at least 160 children have died from measles in Afghanistan in 2024.
