Kabul, May 14 (H.S.). Malnutrition and starvation could kill thousands of children in Afghanistan in the coming days. More than half of Afghanistan’s population is facing a major food crisis under Taliban rule. The public is suffering from hunger and the people of Afghanistan are forced to sell even their children for food.
It has been told in a report that Afghanistan is one of the seven countries which is facing the appalling level of food crisis. This has been claimed in a World Bank report. According to the report, the seven food-stressed countries include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. These countries have seen the largest increase in the number of people facing food crisis since the Global Report on Food Crises began reporting the data in 2017.
UNICEF has also warned that Afghanistan is facing critical food aid shortages due to lack of finance support amid a wider humanitarian crisis in the country. Melanie Galvin, chief of nutrition at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), claimed in a video message on Twitter that “thousands of vulnerable children could die of severe malnutrition in Afghanistan this year alone.”
Galvin further said that the World Food Organization is facing an immediate funding gap of USD 21 million to treat malnutrition and health workers across the country.
The organization is also facing shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). RUTF is considered as an essential readymade food supplement which is given to cure children suffering from malnutrition. Years of conflict, poverty, and a dire economy are causing people to starve.
UNICEF said in its report that Afghanistan is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. More than 28 million people are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance this year, including more than 15 million children.
