Pandemic of Malnutrition Threatens Over a Million Children

U.N. Sounds ALARM – Over a Million Children in Danger!

(NewsReady.com) – Food insecurity is a major problem across the world right now. Global leaders have had multiple meetings about how to handle the growing crisis. But in Afghanistan, the problem is being made worse by the Taliban.

The United Nations recently reported that 1.1 million Afghan kids under the age of 5 will be severely malnourished in 2022. UNICEF reports the country has one of the highest rates of stunting (inability to grow) in the world for kids under age 5 at 41%. Additionally, 9.5% of kids suffer acute malnutrition. There has been a sharp increase in the number of sick, hungry children who are being brought into hospitals in the country to receive treatment.

The international community saw the problem coming last year when the Taliban took charge and tried to prevent it. A massive emergency food program was rolled out, and millions of Afghans were fed, but the aid groups haven’t been able to keep up with demand as conditions in the country have deteriorated.

1.1 million small Afghan children could face severe malnutrition this year, UN sayshttps://t.co/RK7V5l6EZ3 pic.twitter.com/lCOS3ceWvW

— CP24 (@CP24) May 25, 2022

According to the Associated Press, the problem in Afghanistan is being made worse by the global food insecurity problem. The cost of food is spiraling out of control; Russia’s war on Ukraine has thrown the wheat market into chaos. And, international funding to help get Afghans through the next year have not panned out, leaving children to starve and parents at a loss for what to do.

Instead of focusing on the growing issue, the Taliban seems more concerned about whether the women in their country are covering their faces. There’s only so much the international community can do if the Afghan government isn’t willing to put in any work to make the situation better for its citizens.