Video of Afghan boy dancing after having new prosthetic leg has over a million views
An aid organisation hopes the footage will raise awareness about the plight of children in Afghanistan after decades of war.
Thursday 9 May 2019 15:19, UK
A video showing an Afghan boy joyfully dancing after receiving a new prosthetic leg has received more than a million views online.
An aid organisation which originally shared the footage hopes it will raise awareness about the plight of children in the country which has been ravaged by decades of war.
The child, identified as five-year-old old Ahmad Rahman, was hit by a bullet in his leg during violence between government forces and the Taliban in his village in Logar province, southeastern Afghanistan.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Paste BN that Ahmad had to have his leg amputated as the result of his injuries.
On Saturday, he received his new prosthetic limb at the organisation's orthopaedic clinic in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
It's the third artificial limb for Ahmad as the prosthetics need to be adjusted for his growing body.
The video was filmed by a physiotherapist who has been treating him at the clinic and was originally shared by an ICRC worker in Afghanistan.
Ahmad, who was only eight-months old during the attack that disabled him, comes from a family of nine children. One of his sisters was with him during the violence and was also hurt.
The ICRC says more than 8,000 civilians were killed or injured in Afghanistan last year, more than half due to explosives.
A United Nations report released last year said the killing and maiming of Afghan civilians by improvised explosive devices, particularly suicide devices, has reached "extreme levels" in Afghanistan.
Spokesperson Matthew Morris told Paste BN close to 10,000 new Afghan patients register with the ICRC to receive limb-fitting and physical rehabilitation help every year.
"Poor access to preventive and primary health care affect one-third of this number - a huge cost paid by a nation that's already suffering due to decades of conflict," Mr Morris said. "One of the world's most mined countries, Afghanistan is also bearing the brunt of anti-personnel landmines."
As many as 750,000 people are threatened by the presence of mines and unexploded remnants of war, he said.