2 yıl önce

1M Afghan children at risk of dying from hunger amid acute malnutrition

Meanwhile, measles cases are rising in Afghanistan – a "death sentence" for malnourished children.

AFP

In some places in Afghanistan, people are chopping down trees to provide fuel for the hospitals amid widespread shortages.

Around 3.2 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan by the end of this year, with 1 million of them at risk of dying as temperatures drop.

The World Health Organization and aid agencies warned on Friday of famine as a drought coincides with a failing economy following the withdrawal of Western financial support in the aftermath of a Taliban takeover in August.

The health sector has been hit especially hard, with many healthcare workers fleeing due to unpaid salaries.

"It's an uphill battle as starvation grips the country," Margaret Harris told Geneva-based journalists by telephone from the capital Kabul.

"The world must not and cannot afford to turn its back on Afghanistan."

Harris did not know the number of children who had already died from malnutrition but described "wards filled with tiny little children", including with a seven-month-old baby whom she described as "smaller than a newborn".

Rising measles cases

A raging measles outbreak has sickened thousands and killed nearly 100 in Afghanistan this year, Harris said.

WHO data shows 24,000 clinical cases had so far been reported.

"For malnourished children, measles is a death sentence. We will see so many more deaths if we don't move on this quickly," Harris said.

She stressed the need to urgently scale up disease surveillance and testing in the country, but said that even without sufficient monitoring, it was clear that "a measles outbreak is raging."

"We have seen higher numbers of cases this year and we are seeing new cases every day," she said.

Nighttime temperatures are falling below zero degrees Celsius and colder temperatures are expected to make the old and the young more susceptible to other diseases, Harris said. In some places, people are chopping down trees to provide fuel for the hospitals amid widespread shortages, she added.

SOURCE: Reuters