Source: Save The Children
Temor’s story
The worst drought in 30 years is wiping out crops, livestock and water resources in Afghanistan.
This, coupled with a crippling economic crises, has led to unprecedented levels of hunger and malnutrition:
- 2 in 3 people across the country are in need of humanitarian aid.
- 15.3 million people are facing food insecurity, with many families, like Temor’s*, living on bread and water for weeks at a time.
- 41% of children under 5 are facing acute malnutrition
Temor*, 12, lives with his mother Sonia* and two brothers and sister Samera* (7 months) in a single room home made from mud in Faryab province, northern Afghanistan.
Sadly, his family has not gone unscathed. The lack of employment and rise in food prices have meant Sonia* cannot buy enough food for her children.
We eat three times a day but only pieces of bread. Before, we were eating some good things. [Now], sometimes we can find bread and sometimes we can’t.
As a result, Temor’s* younger siblings have been impacted by malnutrition – Samera*, who is 7 months old, only weighs 3.6kg and his two-year-old brother Sultan* still cannot walk.
Samera* and Sultan* are now receiving treatment for malnutrition at a Save the Children mobile clinic, which visits their community regularly.
But millions of other children aren’t as lucky.
Without enough food or the right nutrition, children can’t learn, play, or grow. Hunger not only devours children’s dreams, it threatens their survival.
