UN Warns 19.2 Million Afghans Face Acute Hunger This Winter — 'Window to Act Rapidly Closing'

KABUL — The United Nations has warned that nearly 19.2 million people in Afghanistan — about 38 percent of the population — are projected to face acute food insecurity during the winter lean season from November 2026 to April 2027.
UN humanitarian spokesperson Olga Cherevko shared the projections at a Geneva briefing on October 20, citing the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. Around five million people are expected to face emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4), double the number projected for April to September 2026. The worst-affected regions include Badakhshan, Badghis, Daikundi, Ghor, Samangan, Sar-e-Pol and rural Ghazni.
The agencies project that 4.04 million children aged six months to five years will need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2027, with more than one million severe cases. About one-third of nutrition sites have closed due to funding cuts. The crisis is driven by unemployment, the forced return of more than 1.2 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan this year, border closures and shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. The World Food Programme's John Aylieff stressed that 'the window to act is rapidly closing' if families are to survive winter with dignity.
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