UN: Funding Cuts Force Closure of Nearly 600 Afghan Health Facilities, 1 Million Children Face Severe Malnutrition

The UN said on August 30, 2026 that plummeting humanitarian funding has forced the closure or suspension of nearly 600 health facilities in Afghanistan this year, including more than 100 sites that specifically treated children for severe wasting, cutting off care for roughly 4 million people, about half of them children. UN officials said 3.7 million Afghan children are now acutely malnourished, including around 1 million in severe, life-threatening condition, with children under two accounting for 83% of severe acute malnutrition cases. The World Food Programme's nutrition programme has received only 22% of the $180 million it requires this year, part of a broader collapse in aid: humanitarian funding for Afghanistan fell from $3.27 billion in 2022 to about $1 billion in 2025, with only $438 million secured so far in 2026 — a 74% funding gap. Hospitals in southern Afghanistan are reporting three to four severely malnourished children for every available bed.