Americans understandably want to forget about Afghanistan, after two decades of a failed military intervention and five years after President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal. But nearly 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger, and child malnutrition is at critical levels in a third of the country.
Mostly that’s due to the inept and barbaric Taliban government’s mismanagement, worsened by severe drought. But funding cuts have also played a role.
In 2024, the United States was the single largest donor to the United Nations’ World Food Program, providing more than $4 billion, which covered nearly half its global operating budget. After President Donald Trump took office, America’s contribution was cut in half. In June, the State Department announced a contribution of $800 million to WFP, but Afghanistan is specifically excluded from the list of eligible countries.
The situation there is dire: Aid agencies say 3.7 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from malnutrition. Children are experiencing “wasting” — slowly dying from hunger — because of a lack of therapeutic feeding.
It’s not just Afghanistan. The U.N. warned in June that hunger is worsening in 13 global hot spots, mostly areas beset by conflict or prolonged refugee crises. A tragedy is unfolding in Uganda, which has taken in nearly 2 million refugees fleeing violence in neighboring countries.
Earlier this year, the U.N. said a lack of funds forced it to stop assisting more than half the refugees in Uganda, and malnutrition among children under age 5 has jumped by 50 percent.
U.S. cuts are not solely responsible. Other rich countries, including Britain and the European Union, have also scaled back foreign assistance. In most cases, their economies are stagnant; the cost of their welfare state is crushing; they need to meet their promised commitments to increase defense spending; and they are strained by their own migration crises, including refugees from Ukraine.
Donor fatigue with seemingly endless conflicts is undeniable. The U.N. badly needs reforms to streamline burdensome bureaucracy and wasteful spending.
Americans don’t want their tax dollars feeding terrorists. Careful controls must be imposed to ensure that food aid goes to women and children, not military-age males. But Americans are generous, and the crisis calls for compassion.
The world’s richest nation should not let the poorest people on earth die of hunger.
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