Deadly Malnutrition Crisis in Badakhshan; One Child Dies Every Three Days

Photo: SkyNews

Sky News has reported that the child malnutrition crisis in Badakhshan province has reached a point where one child dies every three days.

According to the report, published on Tuesday (October 7), 53 children have died at the Badakhshan public hospital since the beginning of this year. This figure represents a 50 percent increase compared to last year.

Doctors at the Badakhshan public hospital have warned that the number of child deaths is rising.

Sky News, citing UN agencies, said that the nutritional situation across Afghanistan has worsened, with 4.7 million women and children in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition. The report also states that 90 percent of children under the age of five in Afghanistan live in food poverty.

Daniel Timme, a UNICEF spokesperson, said:

“The nutrition situation of children in Afghanistan is extremely serious. More than 3.5 million children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, including 1.4 million children who are severely wasted.”

Meanwhile, today the Taliban also announced in Panjshir province that nearly six thousand women and children there are suffering from malnutrition; an indication of the expanding hunger crisis across the country.