Malnutrition haunts Afghan children amid US sanctions

KABUL — With hands trembling and tears streaming down her face, a grief-stricken mother reluctantly bid farewell to her infant, lost to the cruel grip of acute malnutrition, a devastating affliction that has ravaged countless children in Afghanistan.

Such a scene is not rare at the malnutrition ward of the Kabul-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, a major pediatric hospital in the war-ridden country.

"Sometimes, there can be three deaths at the ward within one day," said Samiullal, a trainee doctor.

According to UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2023 report, 35 percent of children under 4 years old in Afghanistan suffer from moderate to severe stunting, a form of impaired growth and development resulting from malnutrition, and notably, 43 percent of women aged 15 to 49 have anemia.

Nafisa, who has five children — all peddling on the streets due to economic hardships, said her family could receive aid in the past, but now it has stopped due to sanctions.

Some of the malnourished children were born after the withdrawal of the United States-led forces in August 2021, seemingly luckier than the "war babies". But they are facing an even graver humanitarian crisis as the US government's brutal sanctions are exacerbating the country's financial paralysis, and hindering almost every support that Afghan children need.

Aqa Mohammad Shirzad, the head of the malnutrition ward, told Xinhua News Agency that before the imposition of sanctions, the hospital used to admit about 600 malnourished children. However, since the freezing of approximately $7 billion in assets of Afghanistan's central bank by the Joe Biden administration, that number has nearly doubled.

"Sanctions should be waived ... In the past, the hospital provided medicine to the patients, but now we give prescriptions and many patients can't buy medicine," Shirzad said.

Serious ramifications

The ramifications of sanctions are affecting more individuals and entities, as they still hinder global organizations from providing aid in Afghanistan, though the US Department of Treasury claims it has "permitted" international money transactions related to humanitarian operations in the country.

"Donor sanctions brought the health system to the brink of collapse, including nutrition services in urban areas," said an article shared by UNICEF online, noting the impact of sanctions on international cooperation.

Xinhua