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Aid\u00a0agencies\u00a0are doing what they can to\u00a0help,\u00a0including\u00a0by\u00a0identifying\u00a0dangerously malnourished children\u00a0in\u00a0sparsely populated\u00a0\u201cghost\u00a0villages\u201d where those\u00a0who\u00a0can leave do\u00a0so,\u00a0said\u00a0Olga Cherevko\u00a0from the\u00a0UN aid coordination office, OCHA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But\u00a0with\u00a0nearly\u00a022\u00a0million people\u00a0in need\u00a0across Afghanistan\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0UN\u2019s\u00a0$1.7 billion\u00a0appeal\u00a0only 14 per cent funded,\u00a0life is \u201cbecoming impossible\u201d\u00a0in remote areas,\u00a0the agency\u00a0warns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Water scarcity is\u00a0the main cause of strife\u00a0for villagers in\u00a0Bamyan\u00a0province\u00a0who struggle,\u00a0far from\u00a0Afghanistan\u2019s\u00a0major cities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis particular village that I went to, they told me that\u00a0around half of the population had left<\/strong>, actually, because there\u2019s simply\u00a0no water to irrigate the lands<\/strong>, and so all the crops that they were growing, they dried up,\u201d Ms. Cherevko told\u00a0UN News<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cPeople who could leave, they left.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Those who\u00a0have\u00a0remained\u00a0often do so because they have no choice; they cannot\u00a0afford to leave.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms. Cherevko shared a striking example: \u201cOne of the men that I met had nine family members. He showed me what they were having for\u00a0lunch.\u00a0\u00a0It was\u00a0essentially a\u00a0bowl of what looked like rotten potato\u00a0peelings, cooked into a soup just to survive.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, an estimated\u00a03.7 million children\u00a0in Afghanistan suffer from acute malnutrition.\u00a0Many cases go unrecognized\u00a0and in some UN-supported\u00a0clinics\u00a0\u201cchildren die because parents simply didn\u2019t know what was happening<\/strong>; by the time they brought the child in, it was already too late\u201d,\u00a0Ms. Cherevko explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n The UN\u00a0is addressing\u00a0this\u00a0critical issue\u00a0by providing screening and medical support, but also\u00a0by\u00a0visiting\u00a0remote communities\u00a0and raising awareness.\u00a0<\/p>\n3.7 million children\u00a0facing acute malnutrition in 2026<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n