General Situation
Afghanistan faces a critical nutrition crisis, shaped by a, widespread poverty, food insecurity, and repeated climate shocks. High levels of acute malnutrition persist among children under five years and pregnant and breastfeeding women, exacerbated by limited access to diverse diets, inadequate infant and young child feeding practices, and recurrent disease outbreaks. The situation is further compounded by poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, gaps in basic health and nutrition services.
Our Response
Save the Children places nutrition at the centre of its response, targeting children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) who are at high risk of malnutrition. We support the screening and treatment of 337,137 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, achieving recovery rates in line with Sphere standards. Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) counselling is integrated across health and nutrition platforms, reaching 52,362 caregivers with practical guidance on optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.
In selected locations, we implemented the MAMI (Management of At-risk Mothers and Infants under six months) approach to address the interconnected health, nutrition, and wellbeing needs of vulnerable mother–infant pairs.
Ahmad* is a Nutrition Nurse with Save the Children’s mobile clinic in northern Afghanistan. He is enthusiastic, committed and cares deeply about the children he supports. He starts his day at 4:30am with breakfast and prayers, then travels to a storage facility where Save the Children keeps the medical supplies and collects what he and the team needs for the day. They then travel to one of the mobile clinic sites and set up for the day. His team can see up to 60 patients in a day, screening them for malnutrition and providing the necessary treatment. On the day of the interview, Ahmad* had a check up with Roya*, who is recovering from malnutrition, after her mother Yasamin* had malnutrition during pregnancy and after she was born. Ahmad* describes the challenges facing families like Roya*’s in the villages served by the Mobile Health Clinic, including climate change, internal displacement and poverty, which all lead to an increase in cases of malnutrition in children. Despite the challenges he faces in his work, he is proud to help children in Afghanistan and wants to see more mobile health services to reach more children. Sacha Myers / Save the Children