The following is an article written by staff at AmeriCares highlighithing a new nutrition opportunity at Afshar Hospital.
“It’s not easy to be a child in Afghanistan: Approximately 50 percent of children suffer from ill health and poor growth due to malnutrition. One in five Afghan children does not reach the age of five, and many more are at risk for disease and poor development due to malnutrition. Afghanistan has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. (The World Health Organization ranks Afghanistan as “severe” in its prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in children under five.)
But soon, thanks to AmeriCares and Vitamin Angels, Afshar Hospital, on the outskirts of Kabul, will have a way to help vitamin A deficient Afghan children. Afshar doctors will be distributing high-potency vitamin A capsules formulated for pediatric patients. AmeriCares, a U.S.-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid nonprofit organization, has been active in Afghanistan since 1988 and has delivered medicines and medical supplies specifically to Afshar Hospital since 2011. AmeriCares requested the vitamin A capsules from Vitamin Angels, and Vitamin Angels responded with a generous donation of 20,000 capsules. Children will receive the vitamin treatment from Afshar Hospital free of charge.
In 2009, Afshar Hospital was founded by a U.S. non-profit organization, American Medical Overseas Relief (AMOR), in order to provide health care to a population of approximately 100,000 people who previously had little or no access to medical services. The hospital offers primary care with a particular focus on maternal health and pediatrics. Parents bring children to Afshar Hospital for immunizations, antibiotics, and other essential services and treatments. At the same time, Afshar physicians and nurses visit nearby orphanages and clinics to provide services to some of the most vulnerable populations.”
Thank you Vitamin Angels and AmeriCares. Without partnerships and support we are unable to continue to better the health in the communities we serve…