Afghan mothers seek help from hospital for malnourished children

HERAT: Najiba, 24, keeps an eye on her baby, Artiya, one of the estimated four million children at risk of dying of malnutrition this year in Afghanistan.

After suffering a bout of pneumonia at the age of three months, Artiya’s condition worsened and his parents went from hospital to hospital trying to find help.

“I wasn’t getting proper rest or good food,” affecting her ability to produce breast milk, Najiba said at the Herat District Hospital in western Afghanistan.

“These days, I don’t have enough milk for my baby.”

The beleaguered mother, who chose not to give her last name for privacy reasons, said the family earns a living from an electrical supply store run by her husband.

Najiba and her husband spent their meager savings trying to care for Artiya, before learning he has a congenital heart defect.

For her, “nobody can understand what I’m going through. Nobody knows how I feel every day, here with my child in this situation.”

“The only thing left for me is to pray that my child gets better,” she said.

John Aylieff, World Food Program (WFP) Afghanistan director, said women are “sacrificing their own health and nutrition to feed their children.”

Artiya has gained weight after several weeks at the therapeutic nutrition center at Herat Hospital, where colorful designs of balloons and flowers adorn the walls.

Mothers like Najiba, who struggle with the reality of not being able to feed their children, receive psychological support.

Meanwhile, Artiya’s father is “knocking on every door just to borrow money” that could finance an expensive heart operation in another ward, Najiba said.

“Amazing” scale

On average, 315 to 320 malnourished children are admitted each month to the centre, which is supported by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The number of cases has been steadily increasing over the past five years, according to Hamayoun Hemat, MSF’s deputy coordinator in Herat.

Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, low-income families have been hit hard by cuts in international aid, as well as drought and the economic impact of five million Afghans forced across the border from Iran and Pakistan.

“In 2025, we had already seen the largest increase in child malnutrition recorded in Afghanistan since the beginning of the 21st century,” Aylieff said in Kabul.

The crisis is only going to get worse this year, he said AFP: “Four million children in this country will be malnourished and need treatment.”

“These children will die if they are not treated.”

The WFP is seeking $390 million to feed six million Afghans over the next six months, but Aylieff said the likelihood of receiving such funds is “so bleak.”

Pledges of solidarity from around the world, made after the Taliban government imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, have not helped Afghan women much, the WFP director said.

Now “they see their children succumbing to hunger in their arms,” ​​he said.

“no hope”

In the country of more than 40 million people, there are relatively few medical centers that can help treat malnutrition.

Some families travel hundreds of kilometers (miles) to reach the hospital in Herat, as they have no health care facilities in their provinces.

Wranga Niamaty, supervisor of the nursing team, said they often receive patients at the “last stage” where there is “no hope” for their survival.

However, she feels “proud” of those she can save from starvation.

In addition to treating children, the nursing team advises women on breastfeeding, which is a key factor in combating malnutrition.

Single mothers forced to work as cleaners or in agriculture sometimes cannot produce enough milk, often due to dehydration, said nurse Fawzia Azizi.

The clinic was a lifesaver for Jamila, a 25-year-old mother who asked that her last name not be used for privacy.

Her eight-month-old daughter Jamila has Down syndrome and also suffers from malnutrition, despite her husband sending money back from Iran where he works.

Wrapped in a floral veil, Jamila said she feared for the future: “If my husband is kicked out of Iran, we will starve to death.”