As temperatures drop, pneumonia and malnutrition cases among children under five have risen in Nimruz Province. Families cite insufficient healthcare facilities and food scarcity, blaming long-standing unemployment. They contend that limited job opportunities and low incomes expose their children to illnesses. Doctors in the province emphasize that cold weather, poor nutrition, and economic hardships contribute to the spike in pneumonia and malnutrition cases among children.
As the cold wave sets in, the incidence of children contracting pneumonia in Nimruz Province has surged. Some mothers in the province attribute their children’s affliction to the lack of necessary facilities.
30-year-old Gulalai, a mother of two, residing in the Khash Rod district of Nimruz Province, is one such resident. She reveals that her three-year-old daughter has been suffering from pneumonia for the past ten days. Despite her daughter’s worsening condition, Gulalai couldn’t afford to take her to the doctor on time due to financial constraints.
Gulalai adds, “For 10 days, my daughter had severe cough and difficulty breathing. We couldn’t take her to the city because we didn’t have money. Three days ago, her condition deteriorated significantly, and my husband borrowed money to bring her to the hospital. The doctors said that if we had brought her on the first day of her illness, she would have recovered by now.”
The mother of the sick child explicitly states that her husband was an employee of one of the organizations in the previous system. He became unemployed after the Taliban takeover and now struggles to make a living.
One of the doctors at the provincial hospital in Nimruz Province reveals that most pneumonia patients are children under five years old, and with the increase in cold weather, the number of these patients is also rising. Refraining from disclosing his identity in the report, he emphasizes that on average, 200 sick children visit this hospital daily. Due to a shortage of beds, only a few are admitted, while the rest are treated as outpatients or discharged.
The doctor adds, “Most pneumonia patients are children under five years old, unfortunately, when we evaluate most cases, the cause is cold weather. Families cannot purchase fuel and heating devices, and due to inadequate nutrition, their immune system is weak, making them susceptible to diseases.”
Meanwhile, the pediatric section of the provincial hospital in Nimruz has 20 beds, but currently, nearly 70 patients are hospitalized in this section.
Rahima, aged 35 and residing in Nimruz Province’s Kang district, admitted her child to Nimruz Provincial Hospital a week ago. While she commends the healthcare workers’ conduct at the hospital, she voices concerns over insufficient beds for sick children and the absence of space for patient companions.
Rahima says, “Doctors and nurses work tirelessly, and we’ve never encountered any negativity from them. However, at times, they had to accommodate two or even three patients on a single bed due to the lack of alternatives. With numerous patients and limited space for companions, we often found ourselves standing or sitting on the floor. We took turns sleeping at night, fortunate that there was a heater to keep us warm. After leaving the hospital, I experienced joint pain for a week due to sleeping on the ground.”
Although healthcare services in the Nimruz Provincial Hospital are supported financially by UNICEF through Relief International, a source from the Directorate of Nimruz Public Health says that facilities in the pharmacy section, food supplies, and medical equipment at this hospital have decreased compared to last year. The source expresses concern about the shortage of professional staff and beds in this hospital.
The source adds, “The budget allocated to the health sector by UNICEF and the implementing agency is very limited because Nimruz is a border province. In addition to its population, there is a significant influx of travelers and migrants who use health services, leading to a shortage of health services in our department.”
The source further states, “Regrettably, rather than augmenting the hospital budget, there has been a reduction in the health sector budget this year. This translates to even more shortages in health services compared to previous years, necessitating a reassessment and increase in the health budget accordingly.”
Dr. Hamdullah (pseudonym), a pediatric specialist in Nimruz Province, observes a higher incidence of pneumonia compared to previous years. He states, “Poverty and financial constraints among families constitute influential factors in the increased cases of pneumonia. Our statistics indicate a notable rise compared to the past two years.”
The pediatric specialist adds, “Due to financial constraints during the winter season, people cannot afford to heat their homes, which can expedite the incidence of pneumonia. Additionally, children who do not receive proper nutrition and suffer from malnutrition are more prone to pneumonia. Furthermore, the delayed access to doctors due to economic incapacity, especially in remote areas, exacerbates the severity of the illness and increases the casualties resulting from this disease.”
Expressing concerns about the shortage of beds and healthcare staff in Nimruz Provincial Hospital and the inability of families to afford treatment costs in private hospitals, Dr. Hamdullah remarks, “Unfortunately, the number of beds and personnel allocated to Nimruz Provincial Hospital is insufficient to cover the needs of Nimruz residents, and it cannot accommodate more than 40% of the patients in this province. Poor people cannot afford the treatment costs in hospitals and private clinics.”
The pediatric specialist emphasizes, “Most patients who come to us cannot fully afford the consultation fees and medications. Many patients can only afford to buy half of the prescribed medication, resulting in incomplete treatment and failure to achieve the desired results.”
Furthermore, the increasing rate of malnutrition among children in this province has raised concerns among doctors and families.
Doctors in Nimruz state that poor families in this province do not have sufficient resources to provide proper nutrition for their children, leading to malnutrition among them.
Dr. Hamed (pseudonym), a pediatric specialist at one of the private hospitals in Nimruz Province, states, “The primary factor contributing to childhood malnutrition in Nimruz is inadequate nutrition. Due to poverty, most families cannot provide proper food for their children. During breastfeeding, mothers do not receive sufficient nutrition, which affects the quality of breastfeeding for their children. Subsequently, when the child transitions to solid foods, they are not provided with the necessary nutrients.”
Najiba, a 28-year-old mother from Nimruz province, has her child hospitalized at Nimruz Provincial Hospital due to malnutrition. She attributes her son’s malnutrition to poverty.
Najiba explains, “Mahmood, my son, was four months old when I could no longer breastfeed him. I resorted to buying powdered milk and providing it to him. By the time he reached six months, he became excessively thin. When we consulted the doctor, the recommendation was to introduce cereals and supplements. But the question remained: where could we obtain them?! We borrowed powdered milk from a pharmacy where we were known until my husband could send money from Iran. His condition kept deteriorating until I eventually brought him to the hospital. Fortunately, after a month, there’s been a slight improvement in his condition.”
Najiba is not the only one facing her child’s malnutrition due to economic limitations. In the malnutrition ward of Nimruz Provincial Hospital, over 30 children are hospitalized, with most sharing stories similar to Najiba’s.
This comes as, according to statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one million children in Afghanistan are currently suffering from severe malnutrition. The organization stated, “Close to one million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and 2.3 million children suffer from moderate acute malnutrition.”
