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Article History

Received: 25 May 2025

Accepted: 4 September 2025

First Online: 30 September 2025

Declarations

:

: The Research and Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine at Kandahar University reviewed the study protocol and granted a waiver of ethical approval, given that no primary data were collected and all analyses were performed on publicly available, de-identified datasets. The original MICS survey protocols were approved by relevant national authorities, and informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. For child-related data, informed consent was secured from a parent or legal guardian in accordance with ethical guidelines. Moreover, the study adheres meticulously to the ethical standards outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.