It is difficult to eliminate an enemy such as food insecurity. It requires a concerted effort against climate, desertification, funding shortfalls, infrastructure and distribution issues, violent conflict, perpetual poverty, and international policy priorities. Haiti knows this. Ethiopia knows this. Kenya knows this. Millions of people living across the rest of Africa and South Asia, especially, know it.
Now, the United Nations reports that the battle against the emergency of malnutrition has spread to Afghanistan.
The critical lack of protein and micronutrients is evident in the worsening mortality indicators among women and young people. The country now claims the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world and the second highest mortality rate among children under five years old (now around 25% of children die before their fifth birthdays).
Current food rations distributed by the World Food Programme are barely enough to help the population meet the minimum required daily intake of calories, vitamins, and minerals—even with humanitarian workers’ use of nutrient-enhanced foods such as “Plumpy Nut,” a high calorie peanut-butter made for children.
An inadequate intake of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals needed for key bodily processes, but only in small amount) such as iodine and vitamin A can lead to mental disabilities and blindness, respectively. Stunting (retarded physical growth) is also a common indicator of malnutrition across the developing world.
Afghanistan continues to stand in great need of improved access to vaccinations, breast-feeding education for new mothers, and oral-rehydration therapy awareness (stops diarrhea, often caused by water-borne diseases and a lack of sanitation infrastructure; diarrhea is a major killer of children under five).
UNICEF’s mission through 2009 was to improve maternal and child health. Intrinsic to the realization of this goal is bettering the status of women in Afghanistan, so that they are empowered to access money and food resources in order to properly nourish themselves and their children.
It is hoped that since the General Assembly last week unanimously accepted resolutions on the reaffirmation of the rights of children and the elimination of the chronic hunger suffered by more than 1 billion people worldwide, energetic action toward combating hunger will be renewed in the New Year.