JALALABAD (SW) – Health officials in Nangarhar say that the number of children suffering from malnutrition has increased in this province.
They added that the poverty of families and the high prices of goods in this province have led to an increase in the malnutrition among children. Dr. Sikander Ghani, the head of the malnutrition department of Nangarhar regional hospital, told Salam Watandar: “If we talk about malnutrition, then the incidents have actually increased. One thing is that the prices of food in Afghanistan have increased, and unemployment has also increased. People’s economy is weak, so they cannot have access to good food.”
At the same time, some health professionals call malnutrition a threatening issue for children, and according to them, families should pay attention to their children’s food and nutrition.
They added that frequent births, poor economic status of people, lack of attention to children’s food and lack of understanding in the field of child nutrition are the reasons why children may suffer from malnutrition.
Dr. Ruhollah Niazi said: “There are three types of malnutrition, one is when the child is very thin, the second is when the child is swollen, and the third is when both swelling and thin appearance in a child at the same time. This disease is relatively dangerous. And it takes a long time to heal.”
On the other hand, some families whose children are suffering from malnutrition say that they cannot provide enough food for their children due to the bad economic situation. They want the government to provide employment to the people, so that malnutrition can be prevented by solving the economic problems.
Zubair, whose son is malnourished, told Salam Watandar: “My child is malnourished. I know that he is suffering from this disease due to his mother’s poor diet or lack of access to healthy food, but I do not have enough resources to help them. I need to provide proper food, there is no work, I request the government to provide employment to the people.”
ENDS
