VIDEO SHOWS: CHILDREN BEING TESTED FOR MALNUTRITION / WOMEN AND STAFF AT CLINIC / SOUNDBITES FROM WFP COUNTRY DIRECTOR AND MOTHER OF MALNOURISHED CHILDREN

STORY: Child malnutrition in Afghanistan has reached critical levels and aid shortages are forcing health workers to turn away millions of children and mothers—six in seven of those in need—the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday (August 4). Child wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan's provinces, while the number of children being admitted to health centers is rising sharply, WFP's country director in Afghanistan, John Aylieff, told reporters in Geneva. “We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking. It is already too late for too many, but not for the hundreds of the thousands of acutely malnourished women and children who urgently need and deserve our help," Aylieff said. The agency said funding shortfalls had sharply reduced its operations. The U.S., traditionally the largest donor, as well as a slew of European countries, have cut funding since January 2025. WFP said it was now able to reach only one in seven acutely malnourished women and children, down from one in four children needing treatment in March this year. (Production: Timothy Sim)

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 13, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

1. WOMAN CARRYING CHILD, WALKING THROUGH DOOR

2. WOMAN CARRYING CHILD BEING ATTENDED TO AT CLINIC

HELMAND, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 14, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

3. CHILD BEING TESTED FOR MALNUTRITION WITH MID UPPER ARM CIRCUMFERENCE (MUAC) TAPE

4. STAFF PRESENTING HEALTH INFORMATION TO MOTHERS

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 3, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN AYLIEFF, COUNTRY DIRECTOR IN AFGHANISTAN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) SAYING:

“We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking. It is already too late for too many, but not for the hundreds of the thousands of acutely malnourished women and children who urgently need and deserve our help.”

HELMAND, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 14, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

6. VARIOUS OF CHILDREN BEING TESTED FOR MALNUTRITION WITH MUAC TAPE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MOTHER OF TWO CHILDREN, SADIQA, SAYING:

“I wish either I or they have died. I am sick myself—I have typhoid. I can’t breastfeed them because when I do, my body starts to shake. I can’t feed my child when I don’t eat myself, but when I eat, I can feed her. I am sick myself.”

8. SADIQA PACKING FORTIFIED NUTRITIONAL FOOD FOR HER CHILDREN

9. SADIQA RECEIVING PACKETS OF FORTIFIED NUTRITIONAL FOOD

10. SADIQA LEAVING

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 3, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN AYLIEFF, COUNTRY DIRECTOR IN AFGHANISTAN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) SAYING:

“Amid conflict, climate disasters, unemployment and a crisis in the Middle East, which has driven up the price of food, millions of women and children are becoming acutely malnourished and rushing to local health centres for help in desperate search of WFP food.”

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 13, 2026) (WFP - Must on-screen courtesy "WFP")

12. VARIOUS OF STALL HOLDERS ARRANGING PRODUCE AT SHOP

13. VARIOUS OF STALL HOLDERS PACKING PRODUCE FOR CUSTOMERS

14. CUSTOMERS BUYING PRODUCE