UNICEF warns of critical funding gap in Afghanistan

KABUL (Khaama Press): UNICEF in Afghanistan warned of a critical funding gap to provide essential medical food for severe acute malnutrition in the country.
Thousands of malnourished children in Afghanistan face severe consequences because of a critical funding gap, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Melanie Galvin, UNICEF’s Chief of Nutrition, said on the organization’s official Twitter account on Thursday that it urgently needs additional funding to provide severe acute malnutrition children with ready-t-use medical food (RUTF) and life-saving treatment.
Galvin noted that this year, 875,000 children in Afghanistan suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Without treatment, thousands of children are life-threatening.
Severe malnutrition can be treated with RUTF, a “highly efficient and effective” treatment, “in as little as eight weeks,” Galvin said. However, she noted that UNICEF lacked the $21 million necessary resources to purchase RUTF and train health workers across Afghanistan.
This comes a day after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concern over running out of funding for humanitarian assistance in the country.
With adequate funding, humanitarian partners can reduce large-scale hunger, prevent disease outbreaks & reduce the chances of women dying giving birth, OCHA said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the organization called for timely funding to support people in need. “The price of doing nothing has never been higher. Timely funding is needed to support people in need,” it added.
The UN estimates that 28 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian aid, and the Taliban’s restrictions on women have worsened the situation.