UNITED NATIONS, May 19 : Roughly 90 per cent of the population in Afghanistan is on the brink of poverty \u201cand children bear the brunt of it,\u201d the Representative of the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) in the country, Fran Equiza, told reporters in New York on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause, in what is a deeply troubled country \u2013 grappling with humanitarian catastrophe, climate-related disasters, and egregious human rights abuses \u2013 too many people have forgotten that Afghanistan is a children\u2019s rights crisis,\u201d he said, warning that the situation is getting worse.<\/p>\n
This year, some 2.3 million Afghan boys and girls are expected to face acute malnutrition. Of this number, 875,000 will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, around 840,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are likely to experience acute malnutrition, jeopardizing their ability to give their babies the best start in life.<\/p>\n
Equiza added that although fighting has mostly stopped, decades of conflict mean that every day, children\u2019s rights are violated \u201cin the most appalling ways\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said Afghanistan was among the most \u201cweapons-contaminated countries\u201d in the world, and most of the casualties were children.<\/p>\n
He cited preliminary data which suggests that 134 children were killed or maimed by explosive devices between January and March of this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the reality of the escalating danger faced by Afghan children as they explore areas that were previously inaccessible due to fighting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of those killed and maimed are children collecting scrap metal to sell. Because that\u2019s what poverty does. It compels you to send your children to work \u2013 not because you want to, but because you have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, roughly 1.6 million Afghan children \u2013 some as young as six \u2013 are trapped in child labour, working in dangerous conditions just to help their parents put food on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd where education used to be a symbol of hope, children\u2019s right to learn is under attack,\u201d Equiza added.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls across Afghanistan have been denied their right to learn for over three years now \u2013 first, due to COVID-19 and then, since September 2021, because of the ban on attending secondary school. I don\u2019t need to tell you of the impact of these absences on their mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
He underlined UNICEF\u2019s commitment to stay and deliver for the women and children in Afghanistan, where it has had a presence for nearly 75 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re adapting to the fast-changing realities on the ground, finding solutions to reach the children that need us the most, while ensuring that Afghan women employed by UNICEF can continue their invaluable contribution to our work for children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With needs growing every day, Equiza called for greater support from the international community, noting that UNICEF\u2019s Humanitarian Action for Children Appeal is only 22 percent funded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, May 19 : Roughly 90 per cent of the population in Afghanistan is on the brink of poverty \u201cand children bear the brunt of it,\u201d the Representative of the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) in the country, Fran Equiza, told reporters in New York on Thursday. \u201cBecause, in what is a deeply troubled country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n