DEMOCRACY: Afghans face acute malnutrition, food insecurity

March 5, 2012 KABUL (PAN): Afghanistan faces an acute problem of malnutrition and food insecurity, with children suffer from one of the highest levels of chronic malnutrition in the world, according to the latest data from the government and the World Bank. Fifty-four percent of Afghan children under five are chronically malnourished and 34 percent are underweight, says the report on Poverty and Food Security in Afghanistan: Analysis based on the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of 2007/08. Almost three quarters of them - around 72 percent - suffer from key micro-nutrient deficiencies, such as of iron and iodine," adds the study, jointly conducted by the Ministry of Economy and the World Bank.