WHO needs $185M to prevent food insecurity-related deaths in Afghanistan

GENEVA

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said that the UN agency needs $185 million to prevent food insecurity-related deaths in Afghanistan.

“WHO needs $185 million to continue providing medicines and supporting hospitals to prevent more Afghan children and women dying of malnutrition and the consequences of food insecurity,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

Tedros stressed that 13 million people -- 30% of the population -- in the country face acute food insecurity, adding close to a million children are severely malnourished and 2.3 million are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition.

With weakened immune systems and approaching "harsh winter," Tedros said Afghan people are at "higher risk of dying from infectious diseases."

These numbers are likely to increase in coming weeks and months with limited humanitarian aid delivery, he warned.