Kabul, Afghanistan (22 July 2024) - More than 17,000 babies and young children have been treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in Kandahar province in south of Afghanistan thanks to a co-ordinated humanitarian relief effort funded by the King Salman Humanitarian and Relief Center (KSrelief) via Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF) which operates under the management of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

As a result of outstanding operational support from UNICEF, around 16,000 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) were distributed to these children through the UNICEF-supported health centers across the region during a 12-month period at a cost of US$953,301.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Center (KSrelief) financed the project via the IsDB-mandated Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF) that partners with UNICEF for the delivery of this vital work in the south of the country.

The AHTF, managed by the Islamic Development Bank, serves as a vehicle to channel humanitarian assistance, address basic needs, and promote self-reliance and development in the country. The Fund was launched following a collective decision by the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at its 17th Extraordinary Session held on 19 December 2021 in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The project was set up to provide life-saving nutrition services to vulnerable children between the ages of six months and five years who were suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

From May 2023 until May this year, this RUTF successfully reached 17,543 children: 9,940 girls and 7,603 boys.

RUTF sachets were provided to families with SAM-affected children by UNICEF through health centres across the province.

During the most recent four-month period from January to May 2024, just under 7,480 RUTF cartons fed 5,848 malnourished children – 3,274 girls and 2,574 boys.

In the same period, the cure rate for severely malnourished children admitted for treatment was 86% and the death rate was less than 0.2%, hence outperforming the minimum humanitarian standards for management of acute malnutrition

One mother, Narges, took her daughter to one of these clinics five times for life-saving treatment of SAM.

“My child was getting worse each day. My family told me to take her to the clinic so the doctors could check her and find out what was wrong,” she said.

“When I came here the doctor told me that my child, Hasenat, had lost a lot of weight.”

Nutrition Counsellor Narges Ehsan said: “When Hasenat was brought in, she weighed only seven kilograms. We gave her 21 packets of RUTF for one week and prescribed three packets per day.”

We admit 20 to 25 moderately and severely malnourished children on average every month, continued the Nutrition Counsellor. “The number of cases has increased from last year.”

Mum Narges added: “My child has improved and gained some weight. I am very grateful to the doctors. She crawls and smiles at me now and has started to stand up a little.”

“Her appetite is better, and she now eats a lot more RUTF and other food than before.”

“I wish for my daughter to gain weight and be healthy, tall and smart so she can become a doctor in the future.”

Despite the challenges of tackling such extreme cases of starvation, including where health centres are remote and transport networks can be limited, this programme achieved impressive results and gave thousands of children a second chance to thrive.