UN@80: Afghanistan's youth engulfed in crisis of hunger and child labor

In Afghanistan, a deepening humanitarian crisis is robbing the nation's youth of their childhood and future. According to John Aylieff, World Food Programme (WFP) representative and director in Afghanistan, children are the "first victims and casualties" of an escalating hunger crisis. 

In a June 2, 2025, interview with CGTN, Aylieff revealed that approximately 3.5 million girls and boys under five are projected to suffer from malnutrition in 2025, a staggering 500,000 more than the previous year. "We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in malnutrition in Afghanistan," he stated, underscoring the worsening trend. 

This crisis, fueled by economic collapse and unemployment under Taliban rule, forces children as young as 11, like Ibrahim Mohamadi, into grueling labor to support their families. "I wake up early at 5:30 in the morning," Ibrahim said. "When I work here and crush coal, sometimes my hands and feet hurt," he added. "When I see kids my age who don't have to work like me, I wish I didn't have to work either. But I have to work." The UN's urgent warnings highlight the dire reality for Afghan youth, trapped in a cycle of poverty and hunger, with no relief in sight.