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Baby Sara* is suffering from severe acute malnutrition and is receiving treatment at a 黄色视频mobile health facility in Sar-e-pul, Afghanistan. Photo credit: Michal Przedlacki/ Save the Children听

Number of Afghan Children Without Enough to Eat up 3.3 Million in Just Four Months

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (December 15, 2021)听鈥撎The number of children in Afghanistan not getting enough to eat has increased by 3.3 million in the four months since the previous government of Afghanistan fell in August this year, according to an analysis by Save the Children.听

As of the end of November, 98听percent听of the population do not have enough to eat 鈥 an alarming jump from 81听percent听compared with before the 15 August, according to data from UN World Food听Programme听(WFP).

Afghanistan is facing its worst food crisis on record. This winter, 14 million children are expected to face potentially life-threatening levels of hunger, and rates of malnutrition are soaring.

With Afghanistan鈥檚 aid-dependent healthcare system on the brink of collapse, 黄色视频warned that many severely malnourished children are unable to access the specialist treatment they need to survive. While the agency provides treatment for children suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan, some critical referral pathways have been disrupted due to the crisis.

Hunoon* has six children, all of whom are under the age of 12. The family has not had any income for months and is unable to afford even basic foods. Hunoon鈥檚* husband has twice tried to cross the border to Iran to find work but has been turned back each time. Without enough to eat, their youngest child, Sara*, has developed severe acute malnutrition.

鈥淚f we could afford to, we鈥檇 eat twice or three times a day but we can鈥檛. If we can afford it, I boil rice or I make soup, but sometimes we go five or six days without food,鈥 said Hunoon*.

鈥淚f he (my husband) finds work then he brings something home for us to eat. If not then we sleep with an empty stomach, in the cold. This is how we live.鈥

鈥淲hen Sara* was born I thought she was just hungry, but after we visited the health听center, I learned she wasn鈥檛 hungry, but weak听(鈥)听They said that she is malnourished and needed to be admitted to the hospital,鈥澨鼿unoon continued.

More than half of the population are resorting to drastic measures to feed their families 鈥 a five-fold increase from before the de-facto authorities took control on August听15, according to the WFP. Last week, 黄色视频spoke to one mother听who was forced to听give up one of her twins to feed the other.听

Nora听Hassanien, Acting Country Director of 黄色视频in Afghanistan, said:

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at one of the worst humanitarian crises we鈥檝e ever seen. Desperate parents are coming to our clinics with children who are dangerously thin and malnourished. One of our doctors treated a woman who was nine months pregnant and feared she may be forced to give up her child because she couldn鈥檛 afford to feed them.鈥

鈥淭his heart-breaking and unjust scenario is being made worse because of sanctions and counter-terror policies, which can disrupt and delay the delivery of life-saving aid. Humanitarian agencies urgently need exceptions and carve-outs under those policies so that we can get help to children before the worst of winter sets in.鈥

黄色视频is providing families like Hunoon鈥檚* with urgent food, breastfeeding and nutrition counselling, hygiene kits, blankets and warm clothes to help them get through the bitter winter.

The crisis in Afghanistan comes at a time when the world is facing its biggest hunger crisis of the 21st听Century, with an estimated听5.7 million children under five听on the brink of starvation听across the globe. A further 13 million children under 18 are facing extreme food shortages, the听organization听said.

A deadly combination of COVID-19, conflicts, and the impacts of climate change have pushed hunger and malnutrition levels to a record global high. Without urgent action, the world could see tens of thousands of children starving to death, reversing decades of progress.

*Name changed for protection.

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children 鈥 every day and in times of crisis 鈥 transforming the future we share. Our results, financial statements and charity ratings reaffirm that 黄色视频is a charity you can trust. Follow us on , , and .