Doctors Blame US War as Afghan Child Hunger Crisis Worsens

Despite the promises of a better future for Afghans following the ouster of the Taliban and more than twelve years after the original invasion, humanitarian organizations operating in the country say that a crisis of childhood malnutrition and starvation has quietly continued and is now “worsening.”

United Nations figures show that malnutrition among Afghan children has increased more than 50 percent since 2012, with doctors blaming the instability and violence caused by the U.S.-led occupation as the key reason.

According to a new New York Times investigation, most doctors and aid workers in Afghanistan “agree that continuing war and refugee displacement” are key factors in the rising rate of reported malnutrition in children under five years.

Though definitive and comprehensive health statistics are hard to come by in the country, the Times report says that experts are clear on one thing: “Despite years of Western involvement and billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, children’s health is not only still a problem, but […] worsening.”