The situation in Afghanistan has worsened, and the level of hunger is such that parents are administering sleeping pills to their children, who cry out of hunger, to make them fall asleep. Many people, in order to get food, are selling their daughters and kidneys. The major reason behind this crisis is the negligence of the Taliban government towards its own people, and no foreign help has been received by the country after the Taliban take-over last year.
Outside Herat, which is Afghanistan’s third-largest city, thousands of people dwelling in kutcha houses made out of mud are struggling for survival. Here, people are unable to arrange for even one square meal in a day. The children in these settlements keeps on crying out of hunger at nights and are unable to sleep, and hence, the adults go to pharmacies and bring sleeping pills. 5 pills can be bought at the rate of 1 chapati (10 rupees), and the night is spent. This is what most of the people living there do.
On the other hand, doctors have stated that such pills are prescribed to patients suffering from depression in order to help them sleep, and these are not prescribed to be administered on a regular basis. These medicines are advised to be used only occasionally as their regular consumption can damage the human liver. Apart from this, constant lethargy, drowsiness, and behaviour-related problems can also come up.
