KABUL (SW): Officials at the ministry of public health have said that more than 100,000 children under 5 lose their lives in Afghanistan due to various diseases each year.
Speaking at the annual World Breastfeeding Week event held here in Kabul, they said that 48,000 out of 100,000 children under five die from malnutrition which is an alarming rate.
One of the reasons behind child mortality rate is associated with lack of breastfeeding.
Najia Tariq, an official at the ministry of public health, said that breastfeeding could significantly reduce child mortality rate.
She said that lack of breastfeeding could cause diarrhea in children and could affect the infants’ brain growth.
She added that to reduce child mortality rate, ministry of information and culture, ministry of women’s affairs and other national and international institutions should launch awareness programs across the country.
ENDS
