Despite aid, hunger still stalks Afghan children

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Despite aid, hunger still stalks Afghan children
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU
Associated Press Writer
Dec 21, 12:57 AM EST

AQCHA, Afghanistan (AP) -- While international forces in Afghanistan battle militants hiding in the mountains, aid agencies are fighting an even more elusive enemy: malnutrition.

The World Food Program and UNICEF have launched a project to feed thousands of mothers and children - some too weak to cry. Aid workers hope a high-protein diet distributed through a network of village clinics can help them through the winter.

Despite the billions spent in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban, the country is still comparable to the worst humanitarian crisis zones in Africa. Afghanistan has the world's highest maternal mortality rate and the second-highest child mortality rate - and hunger is a major reason why, the United Nations says. This year, centers across the country will feed 100,000 children and 35,000 pregnant or breast-feeding women.

Dozens of mothers, many clad in full burqa body veils, crouched in the clinic in Aqcha waiting for rations. The room was eerily silent except for gusts of wind that howled through the open door. Dozens of toddlers in their arms didn't make a sound.

"Most of the children are too tired and hungry, they don't have the energy to cry," said Dr. Nasrullah Sulfane, who oversees the program here.


Rest of Stripes article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHAN_MALNOURISHED?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-21-00-01-35