One million Afghan children are in risk of severe acute malnutrition if the country’s situation continues to deteriorate, Unicef warned this Sunday, amid the critical situation in the country after the victory of the Taliban, the increase in violence, and the rapid collapse of the national economy.
“If the current trend continues, UNICEF predicts that one million children under the age of 5 in Afghanistan will suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening illness”Said the organization’s regional director for South Asia, George Laryea-Adjei in a statement.
After his departure from Kabul, he assured that in recent weeks, with the increase in conflicts and insecurity in the country children are the ones who “have paid the highest price”.
“Some have not only been forced from their homes and separated from their schools and friends, but are also deprived of the basic medical care that can save them from diseases such as polio and tetanus,” he said.
The country’s situation has been in rapid deterioration since last May 1, when international troops began the final stage of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, especially in the last 20 days when the Taliban offensive accelerated and led them to conquer almost the whole country in a matter of days.
With the Islamists in power since last August 15, with the taking of Kabul, the country has been submerged in chaos and despair with tens of thousands of people trying to flee, while international forces carry out an evacuation process. massive to remove foreign citizens and the largest number of Afghans at risk.
“With a security crisis, skyrocketing food prices, a severe drought, the spread of COVID-19 and another harsh winter just around the corner, children are at greater risk than ever,” he warned.
In recent days, the country’s citizens suffer more than ever the consequences of the fall of the Government and instability, with many businesses closed, without access to money, and a large part of the population in their homes afraid to leave, or trying to leave the country.
Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis was already serious before the victory of the fundamentalists, after decades of conflict and war that devastated the country and left millions of people affected.
According to Unicef, “More than 4 million children, including 2.2 million girls, are not in school. Around 300,000 children have been forced to leave their homes, some in their pajamas while they slept, others while they sat silently reading their school books ”.
“Too many of them have witnessed scenes that no child should see. Children and adolescents are struggling with anxieties and fears, and they desperately need help, ”explained Laryea-Adjei who urged nations not to cut humanitarian aid at this time.
UNICEF requires 192 million dollars to address the crisis, “and we urge donors to step forward and support vulnerable families and children,” he appealed today with a message on Twitter.
(with information from EFE)
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