The United Nations has recently announced that 12.9 million children across Afghanistan are at risk of measles, diarrhea, and other diseases.
In a newly released report, the organization stated that its volunteer teams, along with partners from other organizations, are working to confront this crisis by providing healthcare services to vulnerable children throughout Afghanistan.
The UN volunteer team in Afghanistan, which officially operates under the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program, emphasized that access to healthcare services is vital for Afghan children.
This warning about the risk of outbreaks of various diseases — including measles and diarrhea — among Afghan children comes as the World Health Organization announced on November 8 that more than 55,000 suspected cases of measles have been reported in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year, with 357 people — mostly children — losing their lives due to the disease.
Doctors Without Borders had also previously reported that one child in Afghanistan dies every day from measles.
Additionally, UNICEF had earlier stated that by July of this year, a total of over 100,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea and 48 related deaths had been recorded.
UNICEF added that more than half of those infected are children under the age of five.
