10/10/22, 8:52 PM Number of Afghan Children without enough to eat up 3.

an Children without enough to eat up 3.3 million in just four months | Save the Children International

NUMBER OF AFGHAN CHILDREN WITHOUT

ENOUGH TO EAT UP 3.3 MILLION IN JUST
FOUR MONTHS

The number of children in Afghanistan not getting enough to eat has increased by 3.3 million in the four months since the
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previous government of Afghanistan fell in August this year, according to an analysis by Save the Children.
10/10/22, 8:52 PM Number of Afghan Children without enough to eat up 3.3 million in just four months | Save the Children International

More than half of the population are resorting to drastic measures to feed their families – a five-fold increase from before
the de-facto authorities took control on 15 August, according to the WFP. Last week, Save the Children spoke to one
mother who was forced to give up one of her twins to feed the other.

Nora Hassanien, Acting Country Director of Save the Children in Afghanistan, said:

“We’re looking at one of the worst humanitarian crises we’ve ever seen. Desperate parents are coming to our clinics with
children who are dangerously thin and malnourished. One of our doctors treated a woman who was nine months pregnant an
feared she may be forced to give up her child because she couldn’t afford to feed them.”

“This heart-breaking and unjust scenario is being made worse because of sanctions and counter-terror policies, which can
disrupt and delay the delivery of life-saving aid. Humanitarian agencies urgently need exceptions and carve-outs under those
policies so that we can get help to children before the worst of winter sets in.”

Save the Children is providing families like Hunoon’s* with urgent food, breastfeeding and nutrition counselling, hygiene
kits, blankets and warm clothes to help them get through the bitter winter.

The crisis in Afghanistan comes at a time when the world is facing its biggest hunger crisis of the 21st century, with an
estimated 5.7 million children under five on the brink of starvation across the globe. A further 13 million children under 18
are facing extreme food shortages, the organisation said.

A deadly combination of COVID-19, conflicts, and the impacts of climate change have pushed hunger and malnutrition
levels to a record global high. Without urgent action, the world could see tens of thousands of children starving to death,
reversing decades of progress.

Notes to editors

Data on food consumption published by the World Food Programme on 8

December: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/WFP-0000134768.pdf
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