U.S. aid cuts deepen hunger and health crisis in Afghanistan

The sudden reduction in U.S. assistance has left Afghanistan facing severe shortages of health and nutrition services. From the 2021 Taliban takeover until last year Washington provided nearly $1 billion annually — over a third of the country’s aid — but that funding has largely evaporated with the dismantling of the U.S.

Agency for International Development. The withdrawals have led to the closure of nearly 450 health centers, forcing many residents to travel long distances for care. Villagers in Daikundi and other provinces recount missed checkups, dangerous long journeys in labor and children lost after local clinics shut or staff left for lack of funds.

Food insecurity and malnutrition have surged: more than 17 million Afghans, about 40 percent of the population, now face acute hunger, two million more than last year, and the World Food Program says four million children are at risk of dying from malnutrition.

u.s. assistance, u.s. agency for international development, afghanistan, taliban takeover, closure of health centers, daikundi province, acute hunger, malnutrition, world food program, children at risk of dying