Increasing malnutrition in children adds to woes of crisishit Afghanistan
Roya carefully spoonfeeds her daughter fortified milk in a ward for malnourished children, praying the tiny infant will avoid a condition that stalks one in ten young children in Afghanistan after decades of conflict.
The ninemonthold had been hospitalised three times already in remote Badakhshan province because her mother had trouble breastfeeding.
“She has gained a bit of weight, she has a bit of a glow,” said 35yearold Roya, cradling baby Bibi Aseya at the Baharak district hospital. “She drinks milk as well but she still doesn’t smile,” she added.
Poor nutrition is rife in a country plagued by economic, humanitarian and climate crises two and a half years since the Taliban returned to power.
Stunted growth
Ten per cent of children under five in Afghanistan are malnourished and 45% are stunted — meaning they are small for their age in part due to poor nutrition — according to the United Nations.
Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest rates of stunting in children under five, said Daniel Timme, communications head for the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.
“If not detected and treated within the first two years of a child’s life the condition becomes irreversible and the affected child will never be able to develop mentally and physically to their full potential,” he said.
“This is not only tragic for the individual child but must have a severe negative impact on the development of the whole country when more than two out of five children are affected,” he said.
Malnutrition has been exacerbated by the upheaval sparked by the Taliban’s sweep to power in 2021. A plunge in international aid and a drain of medical professionals from the country have weakened an already vulnerable health system, with women and children particularly impacted, NGOs say.
Baharak hospital nurse Samira said in summer the ward was typically full.
“Sometimes, we even have two patients in one bed,” she said, adding that training, including on how to support mothers’ breastfeeding, had improved malnutrition rates.
79% of people in Afghanistan lack sufficient access to clean water, according to the UN development agency.
Aisha, who asked that her real name not be used, had a clean water pump installed at her home in the
Badakhshan town of Khairabad through a UNICEF project. But she said the women around her still lacked access to information.
“The women who had some education could boil water, provide medicine or make homemade medicines, but the women who did not have any education were less capable,” she said.
‘Gender apartheid’
Under Taliban authorities, women have borne the brunt of restrictions the UN has labelled “gender apartheid” that have pushed them from public life. In a recent report warning of the frailty of the Afghan health sector, Human Rights Watch underscored the outsized impact on women because of restrictions on their movement, education and employment.
Aisha and her peers share information but worry that doing so is not enough to combat the web of challenges — both social and economic — that contribute to poor nutrition and stunting.
“At the village level, it is difficult for us because we have many illiterate mothers,” said another Khairabad resident, Amina.“We need more health and community workers to raise awareness among the people, distribute medicines for malnourished children and provide family planning and healthcare advice,” she said.