KABUL (SW) – This year, more than three million children in Afghanistan have suffered from malnutrition, said officials.
Mursal, a resident of Paghman, Kabul, whose child is admitted to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Health Hospital, says that she and her children are suffering from malnutrition. She adds that her child has recovered since being admitted to to the hospital. “My child and I are suffering from malnutrition,” says Mursel. “We did not have food at home when we got this disease.”
Bibi Hajra, a resident of Shekardara district of Kabul, whose child is suffering from malnutrition and brought him for treatment, says that her child contracted this disease due to severe diarrhea. She adds: “My child has diarrhea and I am malnourished myself, and we brought my child to the hospital for treatment.”
Meanwhile, officials in the Ministry of Public Health say that malnutrition among children and mothers has decreased compared to last year.
Mohammad Wazir Hamed, the head of public nutrition of the Ministry of Public Health, told Salam Watandar that in the current year, 875 thousand children under the age of five were severely malnourished, 2.3 million children under the age of five were moderately malnourished, and 790 thousand mothers were also malnourished.
The head of public nutrition of the Ministry of Public Health adds that last year, 1.1 million children under the age of five were severely malnourished and 2.2 million children were moderately malnourished, and nearly one million mothers were also malnourished.
Mohammad Wazir Hamed also says: “In this same year, 580,000 children with severe malnutrition, more than 1.1 million children with moderate malnutrition and 800,000 mothers with malnutrition have been treated.”
Doctors state that poverty, non-observance of health care and non-vaccination of children are among the most important causes of malnutrition in Afghanistan.
Arif Hasanzai, a doctor at the Indira Gandhi Child Health Hospital, says that to prevent malnutrition, the child should be breastfed until six months of age.
She adds: “When a child is born, it should be vaccinated and breastfed until six months old, and after six months, it should be fed lightly alongside it, and it should be protected from germs and diseases so as not to lead to malnutrition.” »
According to officials in the Ministry of Public Health, there are currently 3,200 health centers across the country, and all malnourished patients have access to medical services.
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