UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Diarrhea is killing at least 26 children daily in Afghanistan where the total number of dead reaches 9,500 a year, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday.
"Diarrhea-related deaths, which now total 9,500, account for around 12 percent of the 80,000 deaths of children under the age of five that occur annually in Afghanistan," a UNICEF statement read.
UNICEF said the risks associated with diarrhea are exacerbated in Afghanistan, a country where some 1.2 million children are already malnourished and 41 percent of children are stunted.
Poor sanitation and hygiene compound malnutrition, leaving children more susceptible to infections that cause diarrhea, which in turn worsens malnutrition.
UNICEF is calling on all districts in the country to adopt a community-led sanitation approach and for donors to support the movement to improve and save the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the country, the statement added.
