Problems of Afghan children in winter 2022

Children across Afghanistan are increasingly vulnerable to disease and illness due to the deadly combination of rising malnutrition, an unprecedented food crisis, drought, disruptions to vital health and nutrition centres, lack of access to and poor quality of water and sanitation services, and crippling winter weather.

As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in Afghanistan, outbreaks of life-threatening diseases are putting children’s lives at risk. More than 66,000 cases of measles have so far been reported in children so far in 2021. There have also been outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea, malaria and dengue fever. Four cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV-1) have been confirmed this year. 

Severe winter weather, with temperatures already well below freezing in many areas, increase the risk of pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Illness (ARI) as families struggle to heat their homes and keep their children warm. Children living in high altitude regions are especially vulnerable and require urgent life-saving assistance including winter clothing, blankets and fuel for heating. Some 25-30 per cent of deaths in children below the age of five are due to respiratory tract infections, with 90 per cent of these deaths due to pneumonia.

“We are approaching a critical juncture for Afghanistan’s children, as winter brings with it a multitude of threats to their health, There is no time to lose. Without urgent, concerted action - including ensuring we have the resources to deploy additional cash transfers and winter supplies - many of the country’s children will not live to see spring.

_{Source & credit: UNCEF}