Donation from Catalan Agency boosts WFP’s efforts to fight malnutrition

The European Union’s Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) has contributed EUR 290,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) fund for acutely malnourished children and mothers across Afghanistan.

Thanks to this funding, more than 8,000 malnourished women and children in the areas of highest need will be supported with specialized nutritious foods for treatment of malnutrition by the end of the year, WFP reported.

“We are seeing the highest levels of moderate acute malnutrition ever recorded in Afghanistan. Today, 3.9 million children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP Representative and Country Director.

After one year of unprecedented economic hardship and environmental disasters like earthquakes and flooding, vulnerable families across the country have lost their livelihoods and largely exhausted their means to feed themselves.

Nearly 19 million people do not know where their next meal will come from and 6 million of them are facing Emergency levels of hunger and only one step away from famine.

“The record malnutrition rates we are seeing in Afghanistan go hand in hand with unprecedented levels of hunger. Life for most Afghans continues to be unbearably hard, particularly for women and girls,” said McGroarty.

“We thank Catalonia for this generous contribution that expresses solidarity and strong commitment to life-saving nutrition treatment for the women and children of Afghanistan,” she added.

Malnutrition in pregnancy can lead to many risks and complications, including stillbirths, low birthweights, and developmental delays. It can also become a cyclical pattern through generations, as problems at birth due to lack of essential nutrients can lead to lifelong consequences.

Between January and June 2022, WFP’s nutritional programmes reached over 690,000 malnourished children and over 435,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women. WFP aims to reach more than 1 million children under the age of five and more than 500,000 pregnant and nursing women by the end of the year.