GHAZNI CITY (SW) – Officials from Ghazni’s provincial hospital report an increase in the number of children affected by malnutrition in the region.
They attribute this rise to various factors, notably the widespread poverty and lack of gap between childbirths.
Niaz Mohammad Noori, head of Ghazni’s provincial hospital, told Salam Watandar: “Malnutrition is more prevalent in families with insufficient food supplies or imbalanced diets. Unfortunately, Ghazni is among the provinces where dietary habits are not balanced. Another significant factor is the lack of awareness about the importance of birth spacing among families.”
Salima, a mother whose child is malnourished and hospitalized at one of Ghazni’s hospitals, expressed gratitude for the services and the effectiveness of the medications administered.
She shared her story, “My child is six months old, and we came from Qala-e Naw of Khwaja Roshanayi in Ghazni because my child is suffering from malnutrition. Thankfully, his condition is improving, and doctors said that, God willing, he will recover soon. It has been five days since we brought him here, and he is our third child; the other two did not face this problem. The facilities and doctors here are excellent.”
Similarly, Jan Mohammad, another resident of Ghazni, who brought his child to the hospital for treatment of malnutrition, expressed his concern about his child’s weakened condition due to the illness.
“He is a boy, 13 months old. He can neither sit nor walk, and he does not eat anything. We brought him here once before, and he recovered, but when we took him home, the same problem reoccurred. Now we have hospitalized him again. We hope and pray that the doctors will find a solution,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Anwar Hemat, head of the malnutrition treatment center for children in Ghazni, noted that with increased awareness among communities in the province’s districts, more people are seeking medical assistance for malnutrition.
It is worth mentioning that with the rise in malnutrition cases in Ghazni, the malnutrition treatment center at the provincial hospital has expanded its facilities to accommodate more patients and ensure proper care for those hospitalized.
