Nearly a dozen children die of malnutrition in Kunduz

KUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): Nearly a dozen children have died of malnutrition this year in northern Kunduz province, says the Public Health Department.

Hamayoon Safi, head of the nutrition department at the Kunduz Civil Hospital, said they had admitted 438 malnourished children this year.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News in an inclusive interview that about 355 of the children had recovered, while 72 were still under treatment, Eleven of them had died, he revealed.

“We have 10 beds for malnourished children at this hospital, but currently each bed is occupied by three children,” the doctor added.

Mursal, a resident of Khanabad district, said her malnourished son was currently admitted to the hospital.

“When I was pregnant, our financial situation was not good. As a result, I did not undergo treatment and thus my son has been suffering from malnutrition,” she said.

Riaz Ahmad Shinwari, another doctor at the hospital, said children were suffering from malnutrition as expectant mothers did not take rich food and ignored family planning.

Dr. Shinwari underlined the need for child spacing and urged mothers to breastfeed babies for at least two years to prevent malnutrition among children.

UNICEF has warned up to three children in Afghanistan, currently faced with a grave humanitarian crisis, are at risk of malnutrition this year.

sa/mud