Acute hunger in Afghanistan reaches highest levels ever recorded: monitor

Acute malnutrition and hunger in Afghanistan have reached the highest levels ever recorded, with 15. 9 million people facing acute food insecurity and conditions set to worsen in the coming months, according to a global hunger monitor report released on Thursday. UN agency heads have called for emergency support to stem the crisis, as a separate report details serious human rights violations from public floggings to a new ban on demonstrations. Record acute malnutrition levels for the Aug-Oct period have seen hunger levels grow for millions of Afghans according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative aimed at informing decisions based on five phases of food security.

Economic pressures are straining households nationwide, contributing to more than 32 per cent of the population facing crisis-level acute food insecurity phase three or above, including 3. 4m people experiencing emergency phase four conditions. The current deterioration is driven by disease outbreaks and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, compounded by sharply reduced access to nutrition services, the report found. The situation is expected to worsen from November to April during the winter lean season, when nearly 19. 2m people are projected to face phase three or above, including 5m people in emergency food insecurity conditions. Acute malnutrition is also set to grow significantly, with 4. 04m children under the age of five projected to need treatment between January and December 2027. Although improved rainfall and better agricultural production have supported food availability, declining humanitarian assistance is reducing households ability to cope, the report warned. The World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)…