More children in Afghanistan are going hungry than ever before, according to UN data analysed by Save the Children, with 22.8 million people – including almost 14m children – expected to face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity this winter.
More than 5 million children are now just one step away from famine, putting millions of young lives at risk as the country faces its worst-ever food crisis since records began.
Yesterday it was reported that eight children from the same family died of starvation in Kabul after losing both of their parents. The siblings - four boys and four girls - were aged between just 18 months and eight years old.
The data projects an alarming 35% increase in the number of people facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger compared with the same season last year.
The triple impacts of drought, conflict and economic collapse have pushed many families into dangerous territory, Save the Children warned. It said families were taking desperate measures to survive – selling what little they have to buy food, sending their children to work or getting by on bread alone.
Food price hikes have seen the cost of food items like oil, wheat and rice soar by up to 55% in the past year, pushing food out of reach for many families