Anthrow Circus

Child Malnutrition Crisis Hangs Heavy in Afghanistan

REPORTING BY ABDUL BASIR BINA AND SHIKIB AHMAD NAZARI

The summer and fall harvest seasons offered a fleeting respite for numerous Afghan households grappling with the challenge of securing sustenance. But now winter is arriving, with January and February being the months with the harshest weather. According to the UN World Food Programme, 4 million people in Afghanistan are acutely malnourished, including 3.2 million children under age five.

The living standards in Afghanistan, already tenuous before the Taliban assumed control in August 2021, plummeted further amid their power seizure and the ensuing economic collapse. In particular, reports the International Rescue Committee, “Food insecurity remains the greatest threat to everyday Afghans. Currently, 40% of the country’s population are facing acute food insecurity¬—the fourth highest figure in the world.”

Eradicating Polio Would Eradicate So Much Tragedy

TEXT BY DR. MATSHIDISO MOETI
PHOTO BY AJ JOHNSON

In February in the outskirts of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, just beyond where paved roads transition to dirt, an undiagnosed polio infection paralyzed a three-year-old girl. From one day to the next, the child’s life was changed forever.
p>