UNICEF sounds the alarm on Afghanistan’s child malnutrition nightmare, where 3.7 million kids annually endure severe acute cases—one of the globe’s most acute humanitarian disasters.
At a key event launching revised treatment standards, Representative Tajuddin Oyewale highlighted the urgency, insisting on rapid responses to halt child mortality spikes.
The crisis has snowballed since 2021, driven by financial ruin, drought devastation, and aid funding gaps. Over 90% of families, as per World Food Programme stats, face food poverty, risking lifelong damage to children’s bodies and minds.
These guidelines overhaul care strategies, prioritizing ambulatory and inpatient therapies for extreme malnutrition and pioneering support for sub-six-month-olds—a game-changer for infant survival.
Interlinked factors like entrenched poverty, supply chain breakdowns, remote healthcare voids, and undernourished mothers amplify risks, particularly in countryside regions devoid of clinics. Taliban curbs on female medics add to the chaos.
UNICEF also flags a parallel literacy collapse: 90% of 10-year-olds can’t parse basic sentences. Post-Taliban rule, 2.2 million teen girls remain school-less amid closures and staffing crises.
Investing now in primary education and numeracy is non-negotiable, warns UNICEF. Delay means a vicious spiral of malnourishment and uneducation, imperiling Afghanistan’s next generation irreparably.