UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund office in Afghanistan, has recently announced that an estimated 857,000 children under the age of five are expected to require treatment due to acute malnutrition.
In a message posted today (Sunday, Jun 4) on its X account, the organization said that in November it screened 1.2 million children for wasting, of whom 33,510 children were admitted for treatment.
UNICEF emphasized that 58 percent of these children were girls.
The UN Children’s Fund further stated: “However, the need remains high—an estimated 857,000 children under five are expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition.”
Previously, UNICEF had also announced that the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan has risen to 3.7 million.
The organization said it aims to provide treatment services to 1.3 million children suffering from severe wasting and high-risk moderate malnutrition, but it is facing a funding shortfall. Recently, some malnutrition treatment centers have been closed.
This comes as a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), published by the United Nations, forecasts that 17.4 million people will face severe food insecurity in the coming winter.
