The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is urging for $19 million to be raised in order to offer immediate food support to those facing extreme hardship in the western region of Herat province.

The deputy director of WFP in Afghanistan, Ana Maria Salhuana, emphasized the challenges of providing assistance to earthquake victims, stating that the organization must draw from an already strained budget in Afghanistan to provide food.

‘Utter destitution’ 

She stated that natural disasters such as earthquakes have a devastating impact on communities that are already struggling to provide for themselves, pushing them further into poverty.

In Afghanistan, WFP had to stop providing aid to 10 million individuals due to a significant lack of funding and can currently only help one in five people who require food aid to survive.

WFP has stated that it requires an additional $400 million to stockpile food in preparation for the upcoming winter season. This is necessary due to the risk of communities being isolated by snow and landslides during this time.

In Sudan, a large number of young children could face death due to lack of food and medical treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday that in conflict-ridden Sudan, lack of food security and interruptions to vital services could result in the deaths of over 10,000 children under the age of five by the end of the year.

The organizations also cautioned that numerous children in the nation are in danger of contracting cholera, dengue, measles, malaria, and other illnesses due to insufficient containment capabilities.

Sudan’s healthcare system is facing dire circumstances due to over six months of conflict between the national army under the control of the military government in Khartoum and the opposing Rapid Support Forces militia.

According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, healthcare employees have not received their salaries for several months and the majority of hospitals in areas affected by conflict are not operating.

Acute malnutrition 

Around 700,000 children in the nation are experiencing serious malnutrition and 100,000 need urgent medical care for severe malnutrition with additional health issues.

According to WHO and UNICEF, they have collaborated with partners to guarantee that basic healthcare services, essential medical resources, and nutrition are available to those who are most at risk. Additionally, they are aiding the health authorities in addressing a severe cholera outbreak that began last month.

Nonetheless, they cautioned that existing resources are only able to assist a small portion of those who require aid.

Outbreak of lethal diphtheria in Guinea

According to the UN health agency, a diphtheria outbreak in Guinea has caused the deaths of 58 individuals and hundreds of reported cases, with a large number of them being infants and young children.

The World Health Organization stated that there were 538 instances of the illness recorded in the east-central Kankan region from July 4th to October 13th. Over 80% of those cases were among children between the ages of one and four.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious disease caused by bacteria, which can be lethal in up to 40 per cent of cases when there is poor access to treatment with diphtheria antitoxin.

Vaccination can help prevent the illness, but in Guinea, the World Health Organization reports that immunization rates against the disease have remained consistently below 50% for the past ten years and were only at 47% in 2022.

The World Health Organization stated that the current percentage of community protection falls significantly short of the required 80 to 85 percent.

The World Health Organization emphasized that none of the 538 individuals affected by the current outbreak had received a vaccine.

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The source of this information is the United Nations website, specifically the news section.