A UN agency warned Thursday that critical food aid in Afghanistan is being handicapped by a lack of funding, as the country faces a widespread humanitarian crisis.
“Thousands of children could die from severe acute malnutrition,” said Melanie Galvin, chief of nutrition at the United Nations Children’s Fund. She was speaking in a video message on UNICEF’s official Twitter account.
Galvin added that 875,000 children in Afghanistan will suffer from life-threatening acute malnutrition this year. She said UNICEF in Afghanistan faces an urgent funding gap of $21 million to purchase essential supplies for treating malnutrition and also training health worker around the country.
The international community has not officially recognized the Taliban, who seized power in 2021, imposing a series of restrictive measures that have drawn wide criticism. With Afghanistan’s assets abroad frozen, the economy has spiraled further, deepening the hardships of ordinary Afghans.
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