Survey to gauge Afghans’ vulnerability to rising food prices

With United Nations support, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is planning to carry out an urgent nutrition needs assessment in areas particularly affected by the rising food prices, the United Nations IRIN news agency reported Monday.

As food becomes increasingly unaffordable for millions of destitute Afghans, malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency are quickly becoming major health threats for children under five and pregnant and lactating women, public health experts have warned. To counter the rising number of these cases, the Ministry of Public Health and several U.N. agencies will provide health facilities with therapeutic feeding and micronutrient supplies once they are able to assess which portions of the country are most vulnerable.

“The assessment will be launched in the very near future and will be completed in 10 days,” said Mohammad Qasem Shams, food and nutrition expert at the MoPH. “We’re only waiting to receive funds from UNICEF [the U.N. Children’s Fund] and WHO [the U.N. World Health Organization] to execute the rapid assessment.”

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