Kabul, Aug 29 (IANS): At least 26 children under five have died due to malnutrition and inadequate food in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province over the past five months, a hospital source said on Thursday.

According to local medical doctor Abdul Malik Rofi, 365 children under five have been admitted to the hospital in Badakhshan during this period, with 26 of them succumbing to malnutrition, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Afghan media outlet, TOLO news.

The report said that since March 20, a total of 2,696 children have been brought to the hospital.

Doctors have attributed the rising malnutrition cases to a combination of factors, a lack of nutritious food, inadequate healthcare services, poverty and limited access to healthcare facilities in the impoverished region.

According to reports from aid agencies, approximately 2.9 million children under five are facing acute food shortages or at risk of malnutrition across Afghanistan.