Afghanistan's doctors at breaking point as pneumonia and hunger soar
Nine-year-old Wazhma* lives with her family in a village on the outskirts of Kabul. Many people in her village have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover last August and parents are forced to go without meals in order to feed their children.
When Wazhma became sick with a high fever and continuous cough that left her struggling to breathe, her parents tried home remedies at first but they didn’t work. They knew she needed to go to hospital but they didn’t have enough money. Wazhma’s father Samir* had to ask a friend for a loan.
When they arrived at the hospital, doctors said that Wazhma needed oxygen to help her breathe, but they could only give it to her for 30 minutes because they were so low on oxygen cylinders.
“I felt very ill, I was sleeping a lot and moving hurt my body," said Wazhma in a new Save the Children report. “I felt hot and tired. I was scared when I was at the hospital. I found it hard to breathe.”
© France24 2022
* Names have been changed to protect identities