Afghan mothers seek hospital help for kids

NAJIBA, 24, keeps a constant watch over her baby, Artiya, one of around four million children at risk of dying from malnutrition this year in Afghanistan.

- 

AN Afghan nurse (R) attending children inside the Medecins Sans Frontieres malnutrition ward at a hospital in Herat.

(AFP)

After suffering a bout of pneumonia at three months old, Artiya’s condition deteriorated and his parents went from hospital to hospital trying to find help.

“I did not get proper rest or good food,” which affected her ability to produce breast milk, Najiba said at Herat Regional Hospital in western Afghanistan.

“These days, I do not have enough milk for my baby.”

The distressed mother, who chose not to give her surname for privacy reasons, said the family earns a living from an electric supplies store run by her husband.

Najiba and her husband spent their meagre savings trying to get care for Artiya, before learning that he has a congenital heart defect.