Malnutrition Plagues Children and Pregnant Women in Afghanistan

By External Source
MARJA DISTRICT, HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, May 20 2025 – Bibi Gul, a pregnant woman from Helmand’s Marja District, walked two hours to reach the nearest health center in search of treatment for her moderate malnutrition.

“Our economic situation is not very bad,” she said upon arrival. “But the doctors told me that if I don’t treat my malnutrition or eat fortified foods during pregnancy, my children will also be born malnourished. Still, we dare not talk about this at home.”

Her story is far from unique in Afghanistan, where hunger continues to devastate millions. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), an estimated 15 million Afghans urgently need food assistance to survive. Yet the agency is severely underfunded and unable to meet the growing demand.

Afghanistan’s largely rural and agrarian population depends on subsistence farming. With limited access to healthcare and a weak transportation infrastructure, food insecurity and poor health outcomes are widespread—particularly for women and children.

“I’ve been working to prevent malnutrition in this province for nearly five years,” says Dr. Esmatullah, a health inspector overseeing nutrition programs in Helmand. “Ignorance is a major driver. In remote areas, most mothers don’t know how to change their diets during pregnancy, and often, the male head of the household doesn’t understand the issue either.”

The situation in Helmand Province reflects a nationwide crisis. Home to around 1.5 million people, Helmand is one of Afghanistan’s largest provinces. Most families rely on small-scale farming, and many cannot afford the cost of traveling long distances to reach medical care.

Recent data paints a bleak picture: one in four children in Helmand suffers from moderate to severe acute malnutrition. An estimated 40 percent of pregnant and lactating women are also moderately malnourished. Experts attribute the crisis to food shortages, infectious diseases, and low awareness of basic nutritional needs.

Staffing shortages further complicate the response. Although nearly 2,500 people work in Helmand’s health sector, only 310 are dedicated to nutrition services. As a result, many malnutrition cases go undetected or untreated. A recent study found that, on average, just 10 children and eight women receive nutritional support each day in clinics across the province—a fraction of those in need.

Helmand has approximately 159 health facilities, including hospitals and primary clinics. But long distances, a lack of vehicles, and limited resources prevent many families from accessing them.

Acute Malnutrition (GAM) level among children under five in Helmand is 18 percent, which is above the World Health Organization’s critical threshold of 15 percent.

Officials are nevertheless trying to bring the situation under control in spite of the acute lack of resources and the gravity of the situation, says Dr. Madina, who works in the maternal and child nutrition department at a health centre in the Gereshk district of Helmand province.

“We implement nutrition programs to manage moderate acute malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition”, she says.

Dr. Madina says they distribute ready-to-use food supplements to manage the dietary requirement of children under six months and older suffering from moderate acute malnutrition.

Ready-to-use supplementary food and super cereals are also supplied to pregnant and lactating mothers. They also conduct awareness programmes on proper nutrition and healthcare in health centres, according to Madina.

“Malnutrition rates are alarmingly high here,” says Dr. Madina. “It’s heartbreaking when women come from remote areas with their children, hoping for help, while our resources remain limited.”

To reduce the problem, inter-sectoral cooperation and the implementation of comprehensive nutrition and support programs are essential, experts say.