Aid workers say the sight of "painfully thin and lifeless children" has become far too common in Afghanistan as the number of kids suffering from malnutrition has continued to skyrocket since the Taliban takeover in August.
The number of "dangerously malnourished" children treated by international aid group Save the Children more than doubled in the past five months with some dying before they can reach a hospital, the children's charity said.
At a children's hospital in Afghanistan's north, the group said doctors reported that 40 children died from malnutrition on their way to get medical assistance last month alone.
Another hospital in the province of Jawzjan had the capacity to hold up to 12 children with life-threatening severe malnutrition.
In recent weeks, there have been up to 35 at any one time as doctors also faced medication shortages.
Afghanistan is currently experiencing its worst food crisis on record.
The World Food Program (WFP) said a third of Afghanistan's population was facing food insecurity with 8.7 million facing "emergency level" hunger.
Two-thirds of the country’s children need aid to survive.
Acute malnutrition was above emergency thresholds in 25 out of 34 provinces, the WFP said, and an estimated 2 million children were malnourished.
The situation is expected to worsen as Afghans continue to face drought, a pandemic and conflict.
In August, Save the Children's mobile health teams reported seeing an average of 39 malnourished children each. By December, those numbers topped 100.
"With the health system crumbling, sick and worried families have travelled up to 80 kilometres to our clinics," said Athena Rayburn, director of advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children.
'Every parent's worst nightmare'
Nine-month-old Shaida was treated for malnutrition at a Save the Children mobile health clinic in Balkh province.
Her parents said, as they struggled to feed the rest of the family, they had already lost one baby who died at four months old.
"We were under a lot of pressure because of [the economic situation] and were displaced and came here," Shaida's father said.
Save the Children said about 1 million children could be at risk of dying from malnourishment.
"Families tell us they have done everything they can – often going without meals themselves so their children can eat. Or, worse, having to give up their children because they can't afford to feed them, " Ms Rayburn said.
"It's every parent's worst nightmare."
Unable to afford even basic food, some families have resorted to marrying their daughters off in their early teens and collecting a dowry to help feed the rest of the family, or are even trying to sell their sons.
The aid-dependent country's economy was already teetering from years of war when the Taliban seized power, amid a chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
Ms Rayburn said the problem was exacerbated by a global asset freeze as the international community refused to work with a Taliban government, given its reputation for brutality and repressive policies.
"When sick children need treatment, all they find is closed doors and empty pharmacies.
"If a solution is not found soon, the heart-breaking reality is that children will continue to die.”
Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said sanctions and the freeze of the reserves of Da Afghanistan Bank were contributing to the shortages of food and the humanitarian crisis.
"The consequence is people are being punished through [this] starvation tactic," he said.
"This is pathetic."
