5 million mothers and children are starving in Afghanistan.

Omissions

• The claim uses the emotionally charged term 'starving,' whereas official WFP and UN sources use more precise technical language such as 'facing malnutrition,' 'affected by hunger crisis,' or 'suffering from extreme malnutrition.'
• The WFP's 4.9 million figure was initially a projection for 2026, though by May 2026 it was being reported as the current reality.
• The broader context is that over 17 million Afghans face acute hunger overall, and Save the Children separately reported that over 9 million children specifically face crisis or emergency levels of hunger — suggesting the total number of affected people is far larger than the 5 million cited for mothers and children alone.
• The UN News article citing the WFP warning was published on 16 May 2026, only days before the MEP's speech on 20 May 2026, so the figure was highly current.

Sources

• PrimaryWorld Food Programme (WFP) — Emergencies: AfghanistanMalnutrition among women and children is projected to reach nearly 4.9 million in 2026.
• PrimaryWorld Food Programme (WFP) — NewsAfghanistan is already facing near-record malnutrition, with nearly five million mothers and children affected.
• SecondaryUN NewsAfghanistan is already facing near-record levels of malnutrition, with nearly five million mothers and children affected.