Malnutrition and inadequate food have claimed the lives of no fewer than 26 children under five in north Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province over the past five months, a hospital source said Thursday.
Abdul Malik Rofi, a local medical doctor, said 365 children under five have been admitted to the hospital in Badakhshan during this period, with 26 of them succumbing to malnutrition.
The report said that since March 20, 2,696 children have been brought to the hospital.
Doctors have attributed the rising number of malnutrition cases to a combination of factors, such as a lack of nutritious food and poverty.
The doctors also added that inadequate healthcare services and limited access to healthcare facilities in the impoverished region were the causes.
According to reports from aid agencies, approximately 2.9 million children under five are facing acute food shortage or at risk of malnutrition across Afghanistan.
