Number of malnourished children on rise, say doctors in Afghanistan
Jul 14, 2023
Kabul [Afghanistan], July 14 : Doctors at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul have observed a recent increase in the number of malnourished children seeking treatment in the hospital, TOLO News reported.
TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. As per the doctors, 45 malnourished children have been admitted to the hospital in the past two weeks.
A doctor, Mohammad Sherzad, said: “The patients who are having health issues, we are hospitalizing them. The patients who are not having health issues but are just malnourished, we don’t hospitalize them. We give them necessary materials and send them to the clinics until they become well.”
Based on official figures, 59 children in Hamal (March 22, 2023, to April 22), 94 children in Saur (April 23 to May 23), 84 children in Jawza (May 24 to June), and 45 malnourished children in the current month have been hospitalized at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital.
The children’s families said they cannot feed their children properly due to poverty and unemployment, according to TOLO News.
Ekram Ullah, who is suffering from malnutrition, has been hospitalized at Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital. Ekramullah’s mother said that due to economic challenges and lack of food, her child is malnourished.
His mother, Gul Sang, said: “I don’t have money. How can I provide him/her with good food.”
“I don’t have money to take care of (him/her). They need good food and other care. I don’t have the capacity to provide (him/her) with something. Anything which is cheap, I buy it for them because poverty is rising,” said Shaziya, mother of a child.
