UNICEF Warns 1 Million Afghan Children May Die Due To Acute Malnutrition If No Immediate Action Is Taken

According to Unicef estimates, 24.4 million Afghans, including 13.1 children, will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.

Two-year-old Soria with mother. Image Source: (Twitter/@UNICEFAfg)

New Delhi: UNICEF warned on Wednesday that without immediate action 1 million Afghan children could lose their life due to acute malnutrition. According to UNICEF estimates, 24.4 million Afghans, including 13.1 children, will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the UN agency referred to the case of a two-year-old child and said: "Having recently recovered from acute watery diarrhoea, two years old Soria is back in the hospital, this time suffering from edema and wasting. Her mother has been by her bedside for the past 2 weeks anxiously waiting for Soria to recover."

In the following tweet, UNICEF added that "without urgent action, 1 million children could die from severe acute malnutrition".

Without urgent action, 1 million #children could die from severe acute malnutrition. @UNICEFAfg is providing high energy peanut paste to children to support their recovery.

— UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) February 9, 2022

Eight-month-old Seraj was too being treated for acute malnutrition & heart problems. 

Madina, mother of 3, has spent the last 2 weeks in the hospital getting her youngest son, 8-month-old Seraj, treated for severe acute malnutrition & heart problems. Upset, exhausted, concerned, she says, “My husband is jobless. We have no money to buy milk or food or medicines.” pic.twitter.com/2r6A9ITJKl

— UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) February 10, 2022

Outbreaks of life-threatening diseases continue, with over 60,000 cases of measles reported in 2021. The Taliban's Ministry of Public Health has claimed that the number of children suffering from malnutrition is around 4.4. million in Afghanistan.

"To overcome malnutrition in Afghanistan, there have been some measures enforced to enhance the health sector and also to recruit the international aid to support the Afghan health sector," said Javid Hajir, a spokesman for the Ministry.