AFGHAN children will die as a result of US funding cuts, an aid agency official has said.

Tuesday’s warning from Action Against Hunger country director Cobi Rietveld follows the cancellation of foreign aid contracts by President Donald Trump’s administration, including for Afghanistan, where more than half of the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive.

Action Against Hunger initially ended all US-funded activities in March after the money dried up suddenly. But it kept the most critical services going in north-eastern Badakhshan province and the capital Kabul through its own budget, a measure that stopped this month.

“If we don’t treat children with acute malnutrition, there is a very high risk of [them] dying,” Ms Rietveld said.

“No child should die because of malnutrition. If we don’t fight hunger, people will die of hunger. If they don’t get medical care, there is a high risk of dying. They don’t get medical care, they die.”

More than 3.5 million children in Afghanistan will suffer from acute malnutrition this year, an increase of 20 per cent on the 2024 figure. 

Ms Rietveld said that funding cuts had also affected other non-governmental organisations’ work in Afghanistan. 

“So when we cut the funding, there will be more children who are going to die of malnutrition,” she added.