Steps on to control child malnutrition, says MoPH

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Public Health has announced that it is working to control child malnutrition in the country.

A day earlier, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) tweeted as the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan deepens, eight cases of acute child malnutrition are registered daily by the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul.

The UN agency said some doctors at the hospital were buying medicine for poor patients with their own money.

“It is my responsibility to help my people in their time of need,” a doctor at the hospital was quoted as saying by UNICEF.

But Dr. Javid Hajir, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, denied the UNICEF claim about the purchase of medicine by doctors.

He said the Ministry of Public Health had taken measures to curb malnutrition in Afghanistan by improving health services and attracting more aid.

The aid is provided by the World Health Organisation, the World Food Organisation and UNICEF, he added.

The official said the ministry had launched an awareness campaign about benefits of breastfeeding and following a diverse diet regime to prevent malnutrition.

At over 1,300 health centers across Afghanistan, acute malnutrition patirnts are being treated. Patients with moderate malnutrition were treated at 1,000 healthcare centers, he explained.

After the fall of the previous government and establishment of new administration, humanitarian organisations and donors have expressed concern about the plight of children in Afghanistan.

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