Malnutrition threatens the lives of millions of Children in Afghanistan: WFP

 

The World Food Programme (WFP) has once again warned about the dire situation facing children in Afghanistan, stating that millions of Afghan children are at serious risk of malnutrition this year.

According to WFP officials in Afghanistan, recent assessments reveal that at least 3.5 million children across the country will face malnutrition in the current year, a problem that continues to worsen daily.

The organization emphasized that every ten seconds, one Afghan child succumbs to malnutrition, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian crisis in a country that has struggled with decades of war, poverty, and deprivation.

The WFP has pointed out that the reduction in international aid has been a major obstacle in addressing the needs of the population. Millions of Afghan citizens, especially children, are at risk due to insufficient food resources.

Following the fall of the previous Afghan government and the rise of the Taliban, international aid to Afghanistan has drastically decreased. Alongside economic issues, drought, rising unemployment, and limited access to healthcare services, the nutrition situation, particularly among children, has reached a critical level.

The WFP has repeatedly warned that without adequate funding, it will not be able to assist all those in need in Afghanistan. The organization has previously stated that if the budget shortfall persists, it will have to scale back its operations, potentially exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in the country.

The international community’s support is crucial in addressing the severe food crisis in Afghanistan. If funding remains insufficient, millions of children and families will continue to face unimaginable hardships, deepening the existing humanitarian crisis.

Malnutrition threatens the lives of millions of Children in Afghanistan: WFP
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UN urges continued donor support amid Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis

 

The UN urges international donors to maintain critical support for Afghanistan, addressing urgent humanitarian needs amid a severe crisis.

The United Nations is urging international donors to maintain critical support for Afghanistan, a country facing the second-largest humanitarian crisis in the world. In 2025, approximately 22.9 million Afghans are in urgent need of assistance. The UN’s call for continued aid is highlighted ahead of the Afghanistan Coordination Group (ACG) meetings in Istanbul, where representatives from Member States, International Financial Institutions, and UNAMA will discuss the country’s situation.

The UN stated in a statement on 7 April 2025, as the ACG meetings commenced, that Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, emphasized the importance of ongoing donor support. She highlighted that long-term resilience and stability for Afghanistan depend on the international community’s ability to address both immediate humanitarian needs and the underlying causes of vulnerability. The UN’s goal is to help the Afghan people break free from the cycle of poverty and suffering while focusing on sustainable solutions.

According to the statement, in 2024, the international community raised US$3.21 billion for Afghanistan’s humanitarian and basic needs programs. This generous funding enabled the UN and its partners to deliver essential life-saving assistance, sustain critical services, and enhance the resilience of vulnerable groups, especially women and girls. These contributions also helped achieve some positive results, including improved food security and moderate economic growth.

However, the global funding crisis threatens to undermine these hard-won gains. A decline in international support could undo progress made over the past four years, potentially triggering negative coping mechanisms among Afghans, such as irregular migration. This could lead to even greater instability in the region and further strain neighboring countries.

The UN stresses the need for sustained commitment from the international donor community to avoid setbacks in Afghanistan’s development. It is crucial to strike a balance between emergency assistance and long-term solutions. The continued engagement of global partners is essential to ensure Afghanistan’s stability and recovery.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis calls for a united response, with both immediate aid and sustainable investments in the country’s future. The UN’s plea serves as a reminder that Afghanistan’s recovery is a shared responsibility that requires continued global attention and action. Without this support, the risks of further destabilization could increase.

Meanwhile, maintaining funding and support for Afghanistan is not only vital for the country’s recovery but also for the broader stability of the region. The international community must remain committed to helping Afghanistan overcome its challenges, providing hope and opportunities for its people to rebuild their lives.

UN urges continued donor support amid Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
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Acting Health Minister Denies Claims of Rifts Within Islamic Emirate

Previously, other officials of the Islamic Emirate had also denied the existence of any internal rifts within the interim government.\Noor Jalal Jalali, acting minister of public health, has denied the existence of any disagreements among members of the Islamic Emirate.

Speaking at a gathering in Kabul, Jalali emphasized that there are no issues or divisions among officials, and each one is committed to fulfilling their duties.

The acting minister of public health stated: “There is no disagreement. Each official is so dedicated and attentive to their responsibilities that I have never seen anything like it in Afghanistan’s history.”

Saleem Paigham, a political analyst, said: “The Islamic Emirate was established largely due to the disunity of former state leaders. If there is no unity among themselves now, the legitimacy of their existence comes into question. Therefore, the more united they are internally, the more beneficial it is for the Afghan people.”

Najib Rahman Shamal, an international relations expert, stated: “The government must take practical steps in fulfilling the demands of the Afghan people. It would be better to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue among other political and religious groups within the country.”

Previously, other officials of the Islamic Emirate had also denied the existence of any internal rifts within the interim government.

Acting Health Minister Denies Claims of Rifts Within Islamic Emirate
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Afghan Ministry Warns US Tariffs Could Hinder Economic Growth

According to the ministry, this decision disproportionately harms the Afghan people, handicraft producers, small businesses, and women entrepreneurs.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has warned that the imposition of a 10% tariff by the United States on Afghan goods poses a serious obstacle to the country’s economic growth.

According to the ministry, this decision disproportionately harms the Afghan people, handicraft producers, small businesses, and women entrepreneurs.

Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, has urged the US government to adopt a supportive and constructive approach in trade relations and exports with Afghanistan.

Jawad stated: “Considering that Afghanistan is a developing and economically vulnerable country, such trade pressures could hinder its economic progress. Afghanistan needs to import tools, equipment, and modern technologies from the United States for growth in various sectors.”

Meanwhile, several economic experts have called on the Trump administration to reconsider this decision, citing global trade challenges that already affect Afghanistan.

Ismail Zadran, an economic analyst, said: “This decision directly impacts us because Afghan traders, ordinary citizens, and farmers were exporting products like dried fruits and carpets to the U.S. and selling them at good prices. With the new tariffs, there will undoubtedly be additional financial pressure on them.”

Abdul Ghafar Nezami, another economic expert, said: “It would have been much better if a fairer approach had been taken toward Afghanistan. The country should not have been placed among those subject to high tariffs. Unfortunately, this is the policy that has been adopted against Afghanistan.”

Previously, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment also responded to the US decision by noting that, as a member of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for least developed countries, Afghan products were previously exported to the US and European Union duty-free.

Afghan Ministry Warns US Tariffs Could Hinder Economic Growth
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Muttaqi Stresses Strengthening Relations with UAE, Iran

Political observers believe such meetings can pave the way for expanding Afghanistan’s relations with regional countries in various sectors.

The acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in meetings with Saif Alketbi, the United Arab Emirates’ special representative for Afghanistan, and Alireza Bikdeli, the acting ambassador of Iran in Kabul, stressed the enhancement of bilateral relations, the development of trade, and transit cooperation.

Amir Khan Muttaqi described the relationship between Kabul and Abu Dhabi as positive and expressed hope that the implementation of agreements made during his recent visit to the UAE would expand trade and transit ties between the two countries.

Muttaqi during a meeting with Mohammad Reza Bahrami, assistant foreign minister of Iran, and Alireza Bikdeli, acting ambassador of Iran in Kabul, discussed bilateral relations, water issues, and the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran.

“For strengthening good neighborly relations, visits and political engagements between Iranian officials and the Islamic Emirate are important. I thank the Iranian authorities for regularly coming to Afghanistan and holding meetings with the Islamic Emirate,” said Zaheerullah Zahoor, a political analyst.

“All conflicts can be resolved through dialogue. The Iranian foreign minister came to Afghanistan; but what was the result? Increased pressure on migrants, executions, and continued inequality. I hope Iranian officials have realized that a stable Afghanistan in their neighborhood is in their best interest,” said Zalmay Afghanyar, another political analyst.

Political observers believe such meetings can pave the way for expanding Afghanistan’s relations with regional countries in various sectors.

“We hope that with the visit of the UAE’s special representative to the country and his meeting with Amir Khan Muttaqi, positive steps will be taken toward progress and implementation of agreements, regardless of the strategic objectives of some countries,” said Ahmad Khan Andar, another political analyst.

Since the beginning of the current solar year, the acting foreign minister has held meetings with representatives of various countries including Pakistan, Qatar, Japan, and the United Nations to enhance cooperation.

Muttaqi Stresses Strengthening Relations with UAE, Iran
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Afghan rights defender told she faces ‘no risk’ from Taliban as Home Office denies asylum

An Afghan woman who risked her life to defend human rights in her home country before fleeing to the UK has been told by the Home Office it is safe for her to return after officials rejected her asylum claim.

Mina (not her real name) worked for western government-backed projects and was involved in training and mentoring women across Afghanistan, which left her in grave danger even before the Taliban took over in 2021.

“I assumed my asylum claim would be granted – I am from Afghanistan, I’m a woman, I worked with western governments,” said Mina. “The refusal was an absolute shock. Now every day I fear being sent back to my home country. Having a normal life here looks like a dream for me. I’m really suffering mentally.

“When I was working with western government projects I received security training about how to respond if I was caught up in a bombing or a kidnapping. Every day I was a few minutes or a few seconds away from bomb blasts.

“My heart beat so fast when I had to pass the checkpoints. Every morning when I said goodbye to my family to go to work I thought it might be the last time I saw them,” she said. “Some of my colleagues just disappeared. The Taliban changed the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to the Ministry of Vice and Virtue – proper, systematic elimination of women.”

The Home Office has previously generally accepted protection claims from women like Mina who could be targeted by the Taliban because of their high-profile work empowering women and who have provided evidence of their work with western government projects.

But in the most recent data for the last three months of 2024 immigration statistics show 26 Afghan women had their claims rejected. Overall 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers had their claims refused, an increase from 48 in the same quarter of 2023. The grant rate for Afghan cases has gone down from 98.5% in the last quarter of 2023 to 36% in the last quarter of 2024.

The 2025 Human Rights Watch report into Afghanistan documents a serious deterioration in the rights of girls and women and an increase in risks to their safety.

Although Mina explained in her Home Office asylum interview of the dangers she faced in Afghanistan because of the work she did a Home Office decision maker who rejected her claim, concluded that: “It is considered that you do not face a real risk of persecution or harm on your return to Afghanistan on the basis of your claimed adverse attention by the Taliban.”

However many of those Mina worked with prior to the Taliban takeover are either in hiding or have fled the country and these support networks have largely been destroyed.

“There are no compassionate factors in your case that warrant a grant of leave to remain outside the immigration rules,” the letter states.

“When I arrived here I felt safe,” Mina said. “I thought I would have a chance to live. In Afghanistan I had not been considered a human. I learnt to ride a bicycle here, something I was not allowed to do in my country. I was really full of hope that my life would change. But someone pressed pause on my life. I hope someone will press play again.”

Her solicitor Jamie Bell of Duncan Lewis said: “It is shocking that 26 Afghan women were refused asylum in the last quarter. However this is a particularly upsetting case where the Home Office states that a woman who risked her life defending women’s rights in Afghanistan would not be at risk on return. The UK should be proud to offer protection to an individual like her. This refusal letter is offensive to all those who defended western values in Afghanistan and who ought to be offered protection when they cannot safely return.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.”

Afghan rights defender told she faces ‘no risk’ from Taliban as Home Office denies asylum
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Rifts growing in the Taliban over the ban on girls’ schooling 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Rifts are growing among Taliban officials over the group’s decision to ban girls from secondary education, leading at least one minister to leave Afghanistan and forcing families to move so their daughters can continue their schooling.

As religious police patrol large parts of the country to ensure that rules are enforced, the restrictions have become so repressive that some senior members of the militant group have called for them to be rolled back in recent months, three Taliban officials told NBC News, which agreed not to identify them so they could speak candidly.

All three said there was a growing divide between ultra-conservative Taliban members in the southern city of Kandahar, where the group’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, lives, and more moderate members from the capital, Kabul. The three officials have been affiliated with more hardline wings of the Taliban, but they said their thinking on girls’ education differed, adding that it had been a mistake to bar them from going to school.

Some Taliban officials “openly expressed their views in support of girls’ education, believing that it will have some impact on the leadership,” an official told NBC News this year. “Unfortunately, rather than welcoming their suggestions, some people took it negatively as if they were against the top leadership.”

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied that there were any tensions within the government, although he said there was occasionally a “difference of opinion among the people.”But in a rare rebuke of the Taliban from within its own ranks, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s acting deputy foreign minister, did speak out against the ban, which was introduced in September 2021, a month after the group took power following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the country.

The Taliban were “committing an injustice” by barring girls from school, Stanikzai said at a graduation ceremony in the eastern province of Khost on Jan. 18, adding that it was not in line with Sharia law but rather “our personal choice or nature.”

“There is no excuse for this, not now and not in the future,” he said.

It would prove to be one of his final acts in Afghanistan. Within days, Stanikzai — a man the Taliban once trusted to lead a team of negotiators in Qatar in talks about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — left the country for the United Arab Emirates.

He has refused to return, despite a visit from Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, who failed to persuade him, the three Taliban officials confirmed.

Stanikzai’s departure was a further mark of protest against the regime’s “illogical and irresponsible policies,” one of them said.

‘Taliban’s principles are difficult to change’

With a new school year starting last week, almost 2.2 million girls have been deprived of their education in the country, according to UNICEF.

But there are few signs the Taliban will reverse their policy, leading some families to risk their lives to flee Afghanistan so women and girls can pursue their schooling elsewhere, said Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan researcher with Human Rights Watch.

Many “didn’t face persecution, per se; they left because they wanted to educate their girls,” she said, adding that their journeys are often “very risky and done in a very illegal way.”Gulalai, 15, said in an interview last month that her family decided to leave Kabul for Peshawar because her father, a grocery store owner, “wanted us to continue our education.”

“We were living a happy life. Then, suddenly, the Taliban suspended our education, and our dreams were shattered,” Gulalai said, speaking on the grounds of her new school.

NBC News has agreed not to use her last name because of fears for her safety.

After travel agents demanded $2,500 for each visa — far more than her family of seven’s entire savings — their only option was to bribe officials and cross the border illegally, Gulalai said.

A relative eventually helped them settle in a two-room house on the outskirts of this city in northeastern Pakistan, she said, adding that her father had gotten a job at a store and that her mother was cleaning families’ homes to help make ends meet.

Gulalai, who said she dreams one day of being a nurse, said she was struggling to settle in her new school because she does not speak or write Urdu, Pakistan’s national language.

She added that she had lost a happy life of close friends, relatives and classmates in Kabul. “There was no more life in Afghanistan; otherwise, who can leave their birthplace?” she said.

Even those who manage to escape safely eventually find that going to school remains out of reach in countries like Turkey or Iran, where there are strict restrictions on granting asylum, according to Fetrat, of Human Rights Watch.

In Pakistan, the government announced in January that it would oust all Afghan refugees living in the country by March 31. From September 2023 to February, at least 844,499 Afghan nationals were deported, according to Amnesty International.

“My father took a risk by migrating us to Pakistan,” Gulalai said, adding that she did not know whether her family would be allowed to stay or be forced to leave.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban, which appeared to take a more moderate stance after they took power, has cracked down further on women’s rights.

“Vice and virtue” laws passed in August now prohibit women from speaking in public, showing their faces outside their homes and moving in public spaces without male chaperones. “Whenever an adult woman leaves her home out of necessity, she is obliged to conceal her voice, face, and body,” the laws state.Despite internal pressure from some of their own members, it’s unlikely that the Taliban would shift their stance on girls’ education, said Gaisu Yari, an Afghan research fellow at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank.

Since he came to power, Akhundzada has moved to consolidate his ranks by appointing several hard-line loyalists who have supported the ban to key Cabinet positions.

And while Stanikzai has supported girls’ education, “he now feels increasingly isolated due to his position,” Yari said, adding that his more moderate allies in Kabul could not go against their supreme leader’s directives.“The Taliban’s principles are difficult to change, particularly when it comes to women,” she said.

The decrees, she added, “have not only been established as policies but have been solidified into law, making them hard to reverse.”

Astha Rajvanshi is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London. Previously, she worked as a staff writer covering international news for TIME.

Rifts growing in the Taliban over the ban on girls’ schooling 
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Son of British couple held by Taliban asks US for help

Aleks Phillips
BBC News
5 April 2025
Handout Peter and Barbie Reynolds stand outside wearing local dress in Afghanistan.
Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife Barbie, 75, have been in prison since the start of February

The son of a British couple who were detained by the Taliban nine weeks ago is calling on the US to help secure their release from an Afghan prison.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife Barbie, 75, were arrested on 1 February while returning to their home in the central Bamiyan province.

Their son, Jonathan, called on the White House to intervene after Faye Hall, an American who was detained alongside them, was released last week by the Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

He told BBC News the detention of his parents – who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran education projects – had been “harrowing and exhausting” for their family.

“And if you have the ability to put the pressure on the people who hold that key, do it now, please.”

Ms Hall became the fourth US citizen to be released by the Taliban since January after talks between officials in Kabul – in what the group described as a “goodwill gesture” towards the Trump administration.

That prompted Mr Reynolds to appeal to US President Donald Trump directly to aid in Peter and Barbie’s release, in a video taken outside the White House earlier this week.

Mr Reynolds, a US citizen, told BBC News that his parents had not been formally accused of any crime.

He said: “They’ve been in and out of court, which is infuriating for them because there’s no charges and they are told every single time: yes, they are innocent, it’s just a formality, we’ve made a mistake.”

An Afghan interpreter was also arrested alongside the British couple.

Mr Reynolds said his parents had sought to work with the Taliban and had “been open” about their work in the country.

He said he believes his mother received “the only certificate for a woman to actually teach and train even men”, despite women typically being banned from employment under Taliban rule.

“They deeply love the country,” he added.

Jonathan Reynolds wearing a black top and glasses
Jonathan Reynolds said his parents’ detention had been “harrowing and exhausting”

He said he had been able to speak to his parents via a prison payphone and described the conversations as “excruciatingly painful”.

“Just to think of your parents, elderly parents and grandparents to my kids – and they’ve got great-grandkids even – and wondering if we’re going to see them again,” he said.

“We want to see our parents again, to hug them and hold them.”

Mr Reynolds said securing his parents release was “complex” as they wish to remain in Afghanistan and continue their education work.

“They want to be released from prison because they’ve done nothing wrong, but they want to be released so they can carry on doing the work they’re doing – which just speaks to the character and the stamina and the vision and conviction that they have,” he added.

He said the UK government had been “very supportive” and discussions with the US State Department had been “encouraging”.

A Taliban official told the BBC in February that the group planned to release the couple “as soon as possible”.

The UK shut its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power. The Foreign Office said this means its ability to help UK nationals in Afghanistan is “extremely limited”.

Son of British couple held by Taliban asks US for help
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Briton held by Taliban with wife describes dire conditions in Kabul jail

In a recording of a phone call from Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Peter Reynolds, 79, also spoke of his fears for the safety of his wife, Barbie, who is being held in the women’s section of the maximum-security jail.

“I’ve been joined up with rapists and murderers by handcuffs and ankle cuffs, including a man who killed his wife and three children, shouting away, a demon-possessed man,” Reynolds said in recordings shared with the Sunday Times.

Reynolds said he was living in “a cage rather than a cell” but described his circumstances as “VIP conditions” compared with where his wife was being held. He said he had lost weight and received only one meal a day.

Hall was also detained, but she was released last weekend after the Trump administration lifted bounties worth $10m (£7.8m) from the heads of senior Taliban figures including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister.

Peter Reynolds said that when he was detained, he was initially told the plane lacked proper landing permission and they would be released. Instead, their phones were confiscated and they were transferred to the interior ministry in Kabul, where the couple were separated then locked up in Pul-e-Charki prison.

Reynolds said he was told by the Taliban that they had confiscated 59 books from their home that were “against Islam”. He was asked why they had them. “I asked: ‘Can you tell me any part of those books which is against Islam?’” he said. “No one has been able to, so I think it’s an outrage.

“They have interrogated more than 30 people who worked with us in Yakawlang and Kabul, including our accountant and tax people, and we had to put our thumbprint on a nine-page-long CID [criminal investigation department] report and they said they could find no crime. That was three weeks ago but still they haven’t released us.

“These things are an utter disgrace and shame. The Taliban have made a mistake and need to face up to it.”

Briton held by Taliban with wife describes dire conditions in Kabul jail
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Acting Economy Minister: Neighbors Oppose Afghan Progress

Hamdullah Nomani added that the country should not rely on foreigners for its development.

The Acting Minister of Economy, without naming any specific country, said that neighboring nations do not wish to see Afghanistan progress.

In a program held in Kabul, Din Mohammad Hanif said that international aid to Afghanistan has been cut off, and all current projects are being financed through domestic funding.

Din Mohammad Hanif, Acting Minister of Economy, said: “Neighboring countries do not want Afghanistan to develop and prosper. They want Afghanistan to remain merely a consumer market—for everything from children’s balloons to other goods—to be manufactured by them and sold here.”

Meanwhile, Hamdullah Nomani, the acting minister of urban development and housing emphasized the importance of implementing infrastructure projects to prevent youth migration abroad.

Hamdullah Nomani added that the country should not rely on foreigners for its development.

Nomani said: “Our homeland can be rebuilt through the efforts of our own people. It is no longer feasible to wait for others—we waited for forty years and saw the result.”

He also pointed to widespread corruption in Afghanistan’s previous governments and highlighted the Islamic Emirate’s firm stance against it.

The acting minister of urban development and housing said: “The Islamic Emirate collects from the people and spends it back for the benefit of the people. The priority is to design policies and strategies in the simplest way possible—free from any form of corruption, theft, or exploitation.”

Poverty, unemployment, and rising migration among Afghan youth remain major challenges that have affected a large segment of the population for many years. However, officials of the Islamic Emirate have consistently emphasized that they aim to address these issues through the implementation of major infrastructure projects.

Acting Economy Minister: Neighbors Oppose Afghan Progress
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