India, Aug. 5 -- Child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan's provinces and is expected to worsen as funding shortfalls force cuts in food distributions and other support, as reported by the UN World Food Program.

"We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking," John Aylieff, WFP's country director in Afghanistan, said in a statement, adding that "it is already too late for too many."

Afghanistan continues to recover from decades of conflict and upheaval, including the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021 as the Taliban took power.

Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office in Afghanistan, said nutrition specialists report that "wasting among children h...