Afghanistan hunger hits record: 15.9 million face acute food shortages, 19.2 million expected this winter

15.9 million people in Afghanistan, 32% of the population, face acute hunger, the highest number ever recorded for the August to October harvest season, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed hunger monitor. Its new analysis, released on Thursday 15 October, warns that the figure will climb to 19.2 million this winter and that more than 4 million young children will need treatment for acute malnutrition next year. AFP's report on the findings was carried by Dawn.

The numbers

The IPC sorts people into five phases, from minimal (1) to famine (5). Phase 3, "crisis", means families cannot meet their food needs without selling assets or skipping meals; Phase 4, "emergency", means large food gaps and high malnutrition.

Source: IPC Afghanistan snapshot, 15 October 2026.

Children and mothers

The malnutrition outlook for 2027 is worse than this year's:

• 4.04 million children aged 6 to 59 months are expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition, up 9% on the 2026 estimate.
• About 1.1 million of them will have severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous form, up 16% from 942,000.
• About 1.27 million pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment, up from 1.19 million.

The IPC blames disease outbreaks, poor water and sanitation, and sharply reduced access to nutrition services.

Why it is worse despite a better harvest

Better rain and harvests this year have put more food in markets, the report says, but falling humanitarian aid has left households less able to cope. The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization called for urgent funding for food aid, emergency farm support and malnutrition treatment. "We still have a window to act, but it is closing fast," WFP country director John Aylieff said, AFP reported.

The link with returns from Pakistan and Iran

The IPC lists returnees among the main pressures. More than 1.2 million Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan in 2026, it says, adding to competition for jobs and strain on services. Most arrive with few savings, little land and no steady income, which makes them among the most exposed to hunger. The report does not split the figure between the two countries.

Rights restrictions

The hunger figures came the same week as a UN mission (UNAMA) report on July to September, which documented women being turned away from clinics and markets without a male guardian, and girls still barred from school beyond grade six.

What comes next

The winter lean season runs from November to April, when food stocks run down and work dries up. FAO's representative Richard Trenchard said families need dependable income and support to get through it. Without new funding, the IPC expects the number of people in emergency conditions to reach 5 million by the spring.