Christmas Appeal 2024

Can you imagine watching your child suffering from hunger and not being able to feed them?

This Christmas the situation is desperate.

Children under 5 in some of the world's poorest countries are facing a life-threatening hunger crisis and they need your help. In Afghanistan, half of all children under 5 don't have enough food and their lives are at risk from severe acute malnutrition.

Your gift could make all the difference.

Could you give £60 to feed a child and save a life?

Baby Aisha's story

Aisha lives in southern Afghanistan. Although we cannot tell you exactly where she lives, it is an isolated region with very limited access to healthcare, nutritious food and safe water. Her father has no income but works a small plot of farmland which, until recently, has provided just enough food for the family to eat. Now, due to drought and the ongoing impact of conflict, his land cannot produce enough to feed his family—and Aisha is suffering. Last month, her grandmother Maryam brought her to a Medair clinic to find help. Aisha weighed just 5kg - that is the average weight of a 2-month-old baby in the UK, but Aisha was 7 months old. Maryam said:

'Aisha was crying all the time - she was coughing, and her hands were cold.'

Aisha needs immediate, life-saving treatment - and sadly she is not alone. Right now, 1 in 2 children under 5 in Afghanistan don’t have enough food and urgently need your help.

A Simple Solution

The issues faced by the world’s poorest countries may be complex, but the solution for malnourished children is simple: a six week course of special supplementary food is often all it takes to prevent malnutrition taking a child's life. This Christmas, you can provide a complete course of treatment for a child that desperately needs it.

Maryam shared her hope of complete healing for her granddaughter:

'I trust these kind doctors. I feel they are like angels, and I hope my granddaughter will have a complete recovery in their hands.'

Right now, we are working on the ground in Afghanistan running health and nutrition clinics for the most remote, hard-to-reach communities. Last year our nutrition clinics were able to discharge 94% of patients as cured!

But we need your help to supply our clinics in Afghanistan and other countries like it with the therapeutic food and medical supplies children so desperately need.  

This year, thanks to three generous Medair UK supporters, every donation up to £40,000 will be matched.

Here’s what your gift could do:  

£30 becomes £60 and could treat SIX malnourished babies with therapeutic milk

£60 becomes £120 and could provide life-saving nutrition treatment for TWO children

£112 becomes £224 and could provide SIXTEEN families with food for a week