Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan: Families Selling Children for Survival

Severe Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan

New Delhi, May 20: Recent reports from various international media outlets, including the BBC, highlight the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Families are reportedly resorting to selling their children to secure food, medical care, or to alleviate debts.

These incidents are increasingly common, indicating a widespread crisis where approximately 75% of the Afghan population struggles to fulfill basic needs.

The dire humanitarian conditions have compelled families to make the heartbreaking decision to sell their children, particularly daughters, as a means of survival. The reports emphasize that extreme poverty, hunger, unemployment, and reductions in international aid are significant factors, worsened by the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls.

A recent BBC report from Ghor province revealed that numerous families, facing severe hunger and joblessness, have sold their daughters. One father, Saeed Ahmad, shared his story of selling his five-year-old daughter, Shaiqa, to fund her necessary surgery for a liver cyst and appendicitis. The buyer agreed to take her only after her medical treatment was completed. Shaiqa's surgery was successful, funded by the 200,000 Afghani (approximately USD 3,200) received from the sale.

The report highlighted that three-quarters of Afghans are unable to meet their basic needs, with nearly five million people experiencing emergency-level hunger and rising child mortality rates due to malnutrition and failing health services.

High unemployment rates, struggling healthcare systems, and a drastic reduction in aid that once supported millions have exacerbated the situation. Families in Ghor are now selling their children as a desperate measure to combat hunger and unemployment.

According to UN data, 75% of Afghans cannot meet their basic needs. Parents have described selling their children as the only option to avoid starvation. One father, introducing his seven-year-old twins, Roqia and Rohila, expressed his willingness to sell his daughters due to overwhelming poverty and debt.

Previous reports have shown that parents have sold children because “other children were dying of hunger,” indicating a troubling trend rather than isolated incidents. A 2022 program titled “In Afghanistan, Selling One Child to Save Another” documented how families in drought-affected areas resort to selling one child to prevent the starvation of the rest.

In the same year, ITV News reported on families driven by starvation to sell their children, showcasing footage of malnourished infants succumbing in hospitals due to a lack of food and medicine. One mother was seen with her children displayed in a local market “like goods for sale.”

Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW) featured a report on “Child trafficking in Afghanistan,” detailing how internally displaced families in rural areas are drawn into child-selling networks, often facilitated by brokers or relatives.

Australia’s SBS News highlighted a case in 2021 where an Afghan mother sold one of her newborn twins to a childless couple to prevent starvation for her remaining family, a story that gained international attention as a symbol of the country’s humanitarian crisis.

Data from the UN and various NGOs indicates that over 80% of Afghan households are in debt, while unemployment, droughts, and the collapse of an economy reliant on foreign aid have left between 23 to 30 million people facing acute food insecurity.

Experts note that the crisis has intensified since the Taliban regained control and international aid was suspended, leading to a situation where “extreme poverty” has become the norm for many.

“Estimates suggest that around 28 million people in Afghanistan were living in poverty in 2025, worsened by mass population returns, increasing drought, and diminishing international aid,” a recent UN report stated.

“While Afghanistan saw a second consecutive year of economic growth, real GDP only increased by 1.9% in 2025, down from 2.3% the previous year. However, population growth reached 6.5%, resulting in an estimated decline of 2.1% in real GDP per capita,” it added.