Afghan Families Sell Children as 4.7 Million Face Famine in Aid-Starved Ghor
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 18
Afghan Families Sell Children as 4.7 Million Face Famine in Aid-Starved Ghor
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 18
Ghor families are selling daughters or arranging future handovers to relatives for cash, with one father agreeing to a 200,000-afghani deal to pay for his five-year-old daughter's surgery.
Three in four Afghans cannot meet basic needs, and 4.7 million people are now one step from famine as unemployment, severe drought and collapsing aid leave parents unable to buy food or medicine.
Aid has sharply retreated: UN figures show funding received so far this year is 70% lower than in 2025 after the US cut nearly all aid last year and other donors, including the UK, also reduced support.
Hospitals in Chaghcharan are overwhelmed by malnutrition and poverty, with the neonatal unit full, mortality reaching 10%, families forced to buy medicines themselves, and some taking sick babies home because they cannot afford to stay.
The Taliban blames inherited economic collapse and says major projects will create jobs, but donor pullback has also been driven by its restrictions on women, leaving millions dependent on urgent relief to survive.
With foreign aid gone, what internal economic lifelines are Afghans creating to survive this catastrophe?
How can the world feed starving Afghans without propping up the regime causing the crisis?
Is severe climate change locking Afghanistan into a permanent and inescapable cycle of famine?
Afghanistan’s 2026 Famine: Unprecedented Child Suffering Amid Aid Cuts, Economic Collapse, and Climate Crisis
Overview
As of May 2026, Afghanistan faces a catastrophic humanitarian crisis marked by widespread famine and severe malnutrition. Economic hardship and the collapse of essential services have forced families to take critically ill children home from hospitals, leaving them without professional care. This situation is made worse by a lack of accessible healthcare and severe limitations on humanitarian aid, pushing child survival to the brink. The crisis is further intensified by funding shortfalls and the inability of organizations to provide adequate assistance, highlighting the urgent need for international support to prevent further suffering and loss of life.