Afghanistan: Over 2300 children died of pneumonia this year

KABUL: The number of children in Afghanistan suffering from pneumonia has grown and over 2300 children lost their lives due to the disease in the current year, reported TOLOnews.

According to Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, more than one million children have been suffering from this disease and have attended health facilities since the beginning of the year.

"The number of infected people that we have is almost 1.3 million, but unfortunately the number of deaths is more than the past year," said Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Cold weather, food insecurity, air pollution, and poverty are thought to be the variables that contribute to the spread of this disease.

Every year on November 12, World Pneumonia Day is observed. Afghanistan is one of the nations where pneumonia is still a major cause of death. Many patients and those who died as a result of this disease are children, TOLOnews reported.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the country's economic situation has deteriorated. The Afghans have repeatedly complained of lack of basic amenities under the interim government and the country is now heavily dependent on humanitarian aid.

"With the arrival of winter, most of the children and adults are affected by this disease," a Kabul resident, Rokai said.

"I got affected just now, we are all infected," said another resident of Kabul, Abdul Ahmad.