A children’s rights organization says that the coronavirus crisis has left more than seven million children in the country prone to poverty, barring them from their basic rights in a country where half the population is under 15 years of age.

The positive cases of COVID-19 in the country are close to 16,000, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

“Despite big commitments by the Afghan government, the situation of children in terms of access to education, child marriages and sexual abuse is critical and unacceptable,” said Naeem Nazari, a spokesman for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

A new report by the National Statistics and Information Authority shows that nearly half of the estimated 32.9 million Afghan population is under 15 years of age.

In this episode host Yaser Abrar discusses the topic with Maryam Ataee, spokesperson for Save the Children.