A plane loaded with 92 tons of essential medicines has arrived in Afghanistan to treat about 675,000 people, Save the Children reported.
The shipment will address a surge in respiratory infections and measles this year, providing lifesaving care to nearly 400,000 children suffering from preventable illnesses.
This delivery, the largest by Save the Children in the past year, targets children afflicted by diseases such as respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, acute watery diarrhea, and skin diseases.
In the last three months, the organization’s mobile health teams have treated nearly 69,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 across eight provinces.
Since the start of 2024, over 1,000 children under 5 have died from pneumonia, accounting for 88% of all pediatric respiratory infection deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The incidence of measles in children under 5 has increased by 44% compared to the same period last year.
Nearly 18 million Afghans, about 40% of the population, have limited access to healthcare.
The medicines will be distributed through Save the Children’s 58 static and mobile clinics, reaching marginalized and underserved communities located 15 to 95 kilometers from public health clinics or hospitals.
In March, Save the Children health teams conducted approximately 86,500 consultations. Among their patients was 2-year-old Shekib, from a remote area of southern Afghanistan. Weighing less than 20 pounds, Shekib was brought to a clinic hardly eating and suffering from dermatitis due to vitamin deficiencies.
