First Foods Afghanistan
Addressing Child Food Poverty and Malnutrition 2025–2028
About
Afghanistan’s children are facing a silent but devastating nutrition crisis – one that is threatening not just their survival but also their ability to thrive. Child food poverty is one of the main drivers of this crisis. Half of all young children in the country are experiencing severe food poverty. This results in high rates of wasting, affecting more than 3.5 million children, and stunting affecting half of the country’s young children. However, much of our programmatic work has focused on the drivers and barriers of nutrition services—while the dietary dimension of young children’s nutrition has been largely overlooked. Hence the critical role of diets during the first two years of life in preventing malnutrition has been underestimated and investment in food systems in Afghanistan have been insensitive to the nutritional needs of young children.
We believe ending child food poverty and malnutrition among young children is achievable, and to end child food poverty, solutions that focus on children’s food and feeding practices are a critical addition to services. To address this crisis, UNICEF Afghanistan– with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) – and aligned with the Global Child Nutrition Fund priorities—is launching First Foods Afghanistan, a multisectoral initiative to end child food poverty.
This initiative supports the production, preparation and consumption of local, homemade and homegrown first foods through the local production of fortified complementary and therapeutic foods, scaling up community-driven behavior change initiatives for complementary feeding on a budget, skill building for women and youth on growing, and preparing first foods. This initiative is partnership oriented; First Foods Afghanistan will work closely with our key partners—including WFP, FAO, WHO, the World Bank, ADB, NGOs, donors and private sector actors to ensure coordinated efforts in enhancing access to and the consumption of nutritious first foods. The First Foods Initiative Afghanistan 2025-2028 offers a bold, systems-based response—linking food, health, WASH, education, and social protection systems to deliver nutritious first foods for every child.
This document provides an actionable roadmap for change. UNICEF is calling on partners, donors, and policymakers to rally behind First Foods Afghanistan—ensuring that every Afghan child has access to the nutritious food they need to survive and thrive.
