Global hunger monitor puts 15.9 million people in Afghanistan in acute food insecurity with 3.4 million in emergency

15 October 2026

A global hunger monitor report using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found that 15.9 million people in Afghanistan face acute food insecurity in the August to October period, with more than 32 per cent of the population in IPC Phase 3, crisis, or above. Of these, 3.4 million people are in IPC Phase 4, emergency, the phase that precedes famine, and acute malnutrition is at the highest level ever recorded in the country. For the November to April winter lean season the report projects nearly 19.2 million people in Phase 3 or above, about 5 million of them in Phase 4. It also projects that 4.04 million children under five will need treatment for acute malnutrition between January and December 2027. The report cites economic pressure on households, disease outbreaks, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, sharply reduced access to nutrition services, and declining humanitarian assistance, even though improved rainfall and agricultural production have supported food availability. World Food Programme country director John Aylieff said there is still a window to act but it is closing fast, and FAO representative Richard Trenchard said families need dependable income opportunities and support to get through winter.