Kunar registers 5-fold decrease in malnourished children rate

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): The Public Health Department in eastern Kunar province says it has recorded a five-fold decrease in the number of malnourished children in the province and a three-time decline in their death rate.

Ayaz Khan Safi, a spokesman for the Public Health Department, said in 2022, more than 80,000 children were diagnosed with moderate malnutrition and more than 16,000 children under the age of five with severe malnutrition.

But in 2023, only 17,000 children were found suffering from this disease and 3,024 children from moderate malnutrition, showing a five-fold decrease.

He added they had created health facilities in remote areas and provided cash assistance to pregnant women in cooperation with various partner organisations and as a result, maternal and child mortality rates significantly decreased.

According to him, 245 children and 16 women lost their lives in 2022 due to malnutrition, but in 2023, 90 children and three women died, which shows a threefold decrease.

Meanwhile, a number of health activists praised the efforts of health institutions and charities and said relevant institutions should increase financial assistance and cooperation with pregnant women in order to improve their diet.

Rahimullah, a doctor at Asadabad Provincial Hospital, said: “We are financially unstable, many women do not get proper and useful food on time, This is the reason why their children suffer from malnutrition..”

sa/ma

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