The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan on Monday welcomed a $2.2 million contribution from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) which will provide critical aid to Afghan women and children.
According to a statement issued by the WFP, this contribution will provide over 550 metric tons of specialized nutritious food to 125,000 Afghan mothers and children for three months to prevent malnutrition.
“This year, in Afghanistan, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are suffering from malnutrition while 3.5 million young children are expected to be malnourished, the sharpest surge in malnutrition ever recorded in the country,” said Mutinta Chimuka, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan.
“It is critical to support mothers and their young children to stay healthy and well-nourished, for their own futures and that of their families,”Mutinta said.
Last year, WFP supported over 2.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and young children with specialized nutritious food to prevent them from falling into malnutrition.
They received ready to use fortified supplementary food, enriched with protein and vitamins, helping them become healthy again. Of those assisted, over 1.5 million were children and nearly 800,000 were Afghan mothers.
WFP is often the last lifeline for women and girls in Afghanistan. Two-thirds of women-headed households cannot afford basic nutrition – a rate nearly 20 percent higher than that of men-headed families. In 2024, WFP reached nearly 12 million people in Afghanistan through all activities, more than half of them were women and girls.
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has meanwhile been a steadfast partner in supporting WFP operations in Afghanistan. Between 2021 and 2024, SIDA’s contributions exceeded $30 million, ranking among WFP’s top ten donors in the country in 2025.
