Marium* (10 months) and Zohra* (3 years) are two sisters from northern Afghanistan. Both sisters were severely malnourished and had pneumonia and diarrhoea. Their mother, Zolaikha* (23 years), says the family cannot afford nutritious food for months because of limited income. She weaves carpets and makes 400 AFN (5.2 USD) per meter, while she can make only 1.5 meters of carpet every month. Her husband, Din Ali* (37), is a daily wage worker but has limited work opportunities because of the prolonged drought. Most days, he cannot find work and earns 200 AFN (2.6USD) the days he can. He says the farmers are not cultivating their lands because of the drought. He used to work on other people’s farms and could earn sufficient income for the family. They could also afford meat at least once a month, but now they cannot even afford vegetables or fruits for days. Most days, they only eat bread and rice. Din Ali* says that the only reasons behind her daughter's illness are unsafe water and poverty.

Zolaikha*, Marium*’s mother, says, “We are a family of four, and my husband is a daily wage worker. Not many jobs are available for him – sometimes he can find work only once or twice a week. But I weave carpets at home. I received 400 AFN (5.20 USD) from a 1-meter carpet. I can weave a 1.5-meter carpet in a month. This is not enough to make ends meet for my family. Also, Marium* is very sick and doesn’t let me work properly.”

“Most days, we eat bread and rice only. We can afford vegetables and fruits when they are cheaper, especially during the season. Over four months ago, we last ate meat during the Eid-e-Kalan (Eid-Ul-Adha).”

“Marium* was doing well until the age of six months. But since the time we gave her water and homemade food, she started to get diarrhoea. She became severely weak two months ago.”

“She was extremely weak. She was crying all the time and was always in pain or discomfort. She was not playing with her sister, Zohra*. She didn’t have the energy to move and had difficulty breathing. She had a high fever, too.”

“I used to cry with her. It was difficult to see my daughter in pain. I had headaches, too, because of the stress and tension. I was terrified and sad that I was unable to help her. I hope no one’s child ever gets sick.”

“We once took her to the district hospital and stayed overnight. It was a public hospital, but it was far from here. We didn’t have money to take her to a private hospital.”

“Later, we took her to the MHT [mobile health team]. The doctor provided injections and medicine for pneumonia and diarrhoea and identified her as severely malnourished. They gave her food to feed 2.5 packets a day.”

“The doctors said that her immune system became weaker because of diarrhoea, and she caught bad pneumonia.”

“It’s been one month since we took her to the clinic, and she has been on the ready food ever since. She is getting well day by day.”

“My other child, Zohra*, was also severely malnourished, and she had frequented diarrhoea too. Later, she caught pneumonia as well. It is all because of drinking unsafe water and not having enough nutritious food.”

“We also took her (Zohra*) to the clinic; she was on the ready food for around three months. She became healthy.”

“Life was better and easier for us three years ago. When I was pregnant with Zohra*, we could afford a good meal every day. I was strong and had no issues during my pregnancy”.

“But this time with Marium*, I lost my appetite because there was nothing to eat but bread and rice. I was fragile and unable to finish my daily chores. I used to have dizziness because I ate only once daily.”

“Zohra* was moderately healthy until the age of 1 year. We could manage nutritious meals and eat meat at least once a month. But drought and unemployment have worsened our economic situation in the last three years.”

“Marium* has skin itching and gets diarrhoea frequently. With Save the Children’s referral, we took her to a skin specialist, who said that the main reason for her itching and skin sensitivity is inadequate access to safe water. They advised cleaning Marium’s body with safe water twice a day.”