{"id":2832,"date":"2023-01-05T12:22:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T12:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2832"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:54:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:54:09","slug":"afghan-wards-full-of-children-suffering-from-pneumonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/afghan-wards-full-of-children-suffering-from-pneumonia\/2023\/01\/05\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan wards full of children suffering from pneumonia"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/span>KABUL,<\/span> Jan<\/span> 5<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> In<\/span> a<\/span> bitterly<\/span> cold<\/span> bedroom<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> beginning<\/span> of<\/span> winter<\/span> in<\/span> Kabul,<\/span> 22-year-old<\/span> Mariam<\/span> sat<\/span> with<\/span> her<\/span> young<\/span> son.<\/span> Ward<\/span> with<\/span> suspected<\/span> pulmonary<\/span> infection.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>His<\/span> 10-month-old<\/span> Rahmat’s<\/span> parents<\/span> say<\/span> he<\/span> will<\/span> get<\/span> sick<\/span> again<\/span> every<\/span> time<\/span> they<\/span> bring<\/span> him<\/span> home<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> crowded<\/span> but<\/span> warm<\/span> hospital.<\/span> His<\/span> parents<\/span> say<\/span> they<\/span> are<\/span> doing<\/span> everything<\/span> they<\/span> can<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> their<\/span> income<\/span> down<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> room<\/span> warm,<\/span> which<\/span> drops<\/span> below<\/span> freezing<\/span> at<\/span> night.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Aid<\/span> groups<\/span> say<\/span> the<\/span> crisis<\/span> is<\/span> likely<\/span> to<\/span> deepen.<\/span> Her<\/span> NGO<\/span> staff<\/span> ban<\/span> on<\/span> women<\/span> has<\/span> forced<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 180<\/span> international<\/span> organizations<\/span> to<\/span> shut<\/span> down<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> critical<\/span> winter<\/span> months,<\/span> saying<\/span> conservative<\/span> countries<\/span> cannot<\/span> reach<\/span> out<\/span> to<\/span> women<\/span> and<\/span> children<\/span> without<\/span> female<\/span> staff.<\/span> I’m<\/span> here.<\/span> Even<\/span> before<\/span> that,<\/span> the<\/span> economic<\/span> shock<\/span> caused<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> 2021<\/span> Taliban<\/span> takeover<\/span> shrank<\/span> Afghanistan’s<\/span> GDP<\/span> by<\/span> 20%<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> leaving<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> half<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> population<\/span> dependent<\/span> on<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> assistance.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Afghanistan<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> hit<\/span> by<\/span> cutbacks<\/span> in<\/span> development<\/span> spending<\/span> by<\/span> foreign<\/span> governments,<\/span> the<\/span> implementation<\/span> of<\/span> sanctions<\/span> by<\/span> Western<\/span> countries,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> freezing<\/span> of<\/span> assets<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> central<\/span> bank,<\/span> all<\/span> of<\/span> which<\/span> severely<\/span> hamper<\/span> the<\/span> banking<\/span> system.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThere<\/span> are<\/span> more<\/span> patients<\/span> than<\/span> before,<\/span> mainly<\/span> because<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> economy,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> Mohammad<\/span> Arif<\/span> Hassanzai,<\/span> head<\/span> of<\/span> internal<\/span> medicine<\/span> at<\/span> Indira<\/span> Gandhi<\/span> Children’s<\/span> Hospital<\/span> in<\/span> Kabul.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> November,<\/span> he<\/span> said<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 6,700<\/span> children<\/span> were<\/span> hospitalized<\/span> with<\/span> pneumonia,<\/span> cough,<\/span> asthma<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> respiratory<\/span> ailments,<\/span> compared<\/span> with<\/span> about<\/span> 3,700<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> month<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> hospital<\/span> statistics.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> International<\/span> Committee<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Red<\/span> Cross<\/span> (ICRC),<\/span> which<\/span> supports<\/span> several<\/span> hospitals<\/span> in<\/span> Afghanistan,<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> children<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> five<\/span> hospitalized<\/span> with<\/span> pneumonia<\/span> in<\/span> 2022<\/span> had<\/span> increased<\/span> by<\/span> 50%<\/span> year-on-year,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> winter<\/span> numbers.<\/span> Announced<\/span> a<\/span> month<\/span> ago.<\/span> \u201cPeople,<\/span> including<\/span> children,<\/span> have<\/span> died<\/span> from<\/span> pneumonia<\/span> this<\/span> year,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> Lucien<\/span> Kristen,<\/span> spokesman<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> ICRC<\/span> in<\/span> Kabul,<\/span> adding<\/span> that<\/span> malnutrition<\/span> contributes<\/span> to<\/span> weakening<\/span> children’s<\/span> immune<\/span> systems.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Aid<\/span> workers<\/span> say<\/span> pollution<\/span> has<\/span> gotten<\/span> worse<\/span> this<\/span> year<\/span> as<\/span> more<\/span> people<\/span> burn<\/span> garbage<\/span> and<\/span> plastic<\/span> for<\/span> heating.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> hospital<\/span> ward<\/span> dedicated<\/span> to<\/span> pneumonia<\/span> patients,<\/span> a<\/span> baby<\/span> lies<\/span> in<\/span> bed<\/span> with<\/span> her<\/span> two<\/span> or<\/span> her<\/span> three,<\/span> watched<\/span> overwhelmed<\/span> by<\/span> concerned<\/span> parents<\/span> and<\/span> several<\/span> medical<\/span> staff.<\/span> Some<\/span> mothers<\/span> held<\/span> small<\/span> oxygen<\/span> masks<\/span> over<\/span> their<\/span> infants’<\/span> faces<\/span> while<\/span> their<\/span> fathers<\/span> crowded<\/span> the<\/span> corridors<\/span> outside.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>There<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> sudden<\/span> scream.<\/span> Mohammad,<\/span> a<\/span> month-old<\/span> baby,<\/span> stopped<\/span> breathing<\/span> and<\/span> had<\/span> blue<\/span> lips.<\/span> His<\/span> uncle,<\/span> who<\/span> had<\/span> a<\/span> child<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> green<\/span> blanket,<\/span> panicked<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> referred<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> specialized<\/span> emergency<\/span> room<\/span> two<\/span> floors<\/span> down.<\/span> He<\/span> ran<\/span> down<\/span> the<\/span> stairs<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> baby’s<\/span> mother<\/span> tearfully<\/span> followed.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> the<\/span> intensive<\/span> care<\/span> unit,<\/span> Mohammad<\/span> was<\/span> hooked<\/span> up<\/span> to<\/span> an<\/span> oxygen<\/span> tube<\/span> through<\/span> his<\/span> nose.<\/span> Doctors<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> in<\/span> critical<\/span> condition<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> take<\/span> five<\/span> days<\/span> to<\/span> stabilize.<\/span> His<\/span> mother<\/span> was<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> baby’s<\/span> bedside.<\/span> Her<\/span> husband<\/span> lost<\/span> her<\/span> job<\/span> and<\/span> couldn’t<\/span> pay<\/span> her<\/span> heating<\/span> bill,<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span> Seeing<\/span> her<\/span> son<\/span> stop<\/span> breathing,<\/span> she<\/span> said,<\/span> “She<\/span> felt<\/span> her<\/span> heart<\/span> stop.”<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KABUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) – In a bitterly cold bedroom at the beginning of winter in Kabul, 22-year-old Mariam sat with her young son. Ward with suspected pulmonary infection. His 10-month-old Rahmat’s parents say he will get sick again every time they bring him home from the crowded but warm hospital. His parents say they […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,2418],"tags":[73,83,662,663,664],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2GERDI4UIRMJ7PH57RMQIP4SNM.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2834,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions\/2834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}