Drought in northern Afghanistan has drastically cut food and water supplies, pushing more children into labour and out of school, Save the Children warns. A September 2025 assessment in Balkh, Jawzjan, Sar e Pul, and Faryab found nearly two‑thirds of families say child labour has risen since 2024, while only about one in five children still attends school. Families cite financial hardship and the need for children to earn as the main reasons most children are not in class.
The drought, now in its fourth year, has wiped out large parts of rain‑fed wheat production in several provinces. Around 85% of 535 households surveyed reported less water than in 2024, and half of children in the affected areas lack daily access to clean water. Soaring food prices, driven by disrupted trade with Iran and Pakistan, are pushing more households into debt and hunger.
About nine million Afghan children – one in three – face crisis‑level hunger, with 3.7 million under‑five children acutely malnourished, according to the IPC. Two‑thirds of survey respondents said their children show visible signs of poor growth, while more than half of pregnant or breastfeeding women said they were eating less. In villages visited by Save the Children, parents describe trying to feed children on little more than tea or thin porridge.
At a Save the Children clinic in northern Afghanistan, a one‑year‑old girl, Sultana*, is being treated for severe acute malnutrition. Her mother, Belqis*, said: “We can’t afford better nutrition. The only thing she gets is milk, and my milk is not sufficient because I don’t have enough food.” A nutrition nurse at the clinic added that children often go days without a proper meal, and many are smaller and thinner than they should be.
Save the Children Country Director in Afghanistan, Bujar Hoxha, said the drought is “silently destroying children’s lives,” as parched land, lost jobs, and rising prices force families to choose between putting food on the table and sending children to school. The agency is providing multi‑purpose cash to around 650 households in Jawzjan and Faryab to help families meet basic needs and reduce the risk of child labour. It is calling on donors to urgently increase flexible funding to protect children from hunger, work, and exclusion from education.
