It’s been 12 months since the Taliban took over in Afghanistan and more families are suffering extreme poverty. The country was already one of the most difficult places in the world to be a child. Now, four crises – conflict, drought, disease and a recent earthquake – are making life for children even harder. Families are being crushed by poverty and hunger. Time is running out for the children of Afghanistan.
Emergency Update
On 17 August, an explosion tore through a Kabul mosque during evening prayers. Many are feared dead or injured, with reports of children among them.
The explosion took place shortly after the one-year mark of the Taliban taking over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Life has always been hard for children in Afghanistan, but the situation has become even more dire.
- 13.1 million children need urgent assistance
- 8 out of 10 people are drinking contaminated water
- Without urgent action, UNICEF estimates 97 per cent of people are in poverty, up from 47 per cent in 2020
- 7.9 million more children risk missing out on critical education
The sudden breakdown in public services has left the health system at the brink of collapse. Diseases are rapidly spreading, with outbreaks of measles, acute watery diarrhoea, dengue and COVID-19.
The June 2022 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan has only added to the turmoil.
On top of this unfolding situation, 1 million children are at risk of dying due to severe acute malnutrition without immediate treatment.
UNICEF is on the ground in Afghanistan, helping to provide life-saving support. But we need your support to help reach children and families in urgent need.
Help Children in Afghanistan
Please, donate now to help provide life-saving care.
Support children in need in Afghanistan
Our teams are working to reach children and families across the country with life-saving support, but more help is urgently needed.
Afghanistan is facing four crises at once: the worst drought in nearly 40 years, a devastating earthquake in Eastern province of Paktika, rising food prices and outbreaks of preventable diseases. Families are being crushed by poverty and hunger.
$129
provides 252 sachets of therapeutic food to help two children recover from severe acute malnutrition.
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Nearly 8 million children need access to education.
More than 730,000 people have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict since January 2021, and too many families lack warm clothing and live in shelters that do not protect against the elements.
The situation in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban took over
On 15 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The challenges of the past 12 months have exposed the deep inequalities and underdevelopment already faced by children, women and communities.
Access to clean water, education and immunisation were already devastatingly low for children across the country. But the scale and scope of these issues has grown.
Today, children and families are facing the near collapse of the health system. A ban on girls’ education in secondary schools is impacting over 1 million girls.
And access to clean water has plunged. Before, 32 per cent of people lacked access to clean water. Now, 80 per cent are drinking contaminated water. Outbreaks of watery diarrhea are putting children’s lives at risk.
Our teams have been in Afghanistan for 65 years. In the past year, we’ve been scaling up our presence to make an even greater impact for children. As of July 2022, UNICEF has 483 staff in country, all working to improve children’s lives.
By making a donation today, you can help the UNICEF teams on the ground provide life-saving support to children in urgent need.
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.
Malnutrition threatens Afghanistan’s children
Meet little Safa, 7 months old, who is suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). During her first visit to this UNICEF-supported health centre, she weighed just five kilograms.
Malnutrition is soaring. More than 1 million children could become so severely malnourished this year that they will be at risk of death.
"I do not have enough breastmilk or nutritious food. After 40 days my children can no longer breastfeed. "
At the health centre, Safa is given ready-to-use therapeutic food. She will be considered recovered when she weighs 7 kilograms.
But the threat of malnutrition is still there. Safa's father has a disability and earns an average of just US$1 a day. Some days, he comes home empty-handed.
Our teams have been in Afghanistan for 65 years and even in the face of the escalating crisis, our work for the children and families, like Safa’s, will continue. UNICEF has a presence in every region of the country – but we can’t do this without you.
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.
How will my donation help children?
Even in the face of the escalating crisis, UNICEF's work for children and families across every region of the country continues. Thanks to support from generous people like you, our teams are on the ground:
- Providing medical care to displaced families.
- Delivering emergency water and sanitation facilities.
- Vaccinating babies against polio and other preventable diseases.
- Treating children for severe acute malnutrition.
- Giving cash assistance to families struggling to buy food and clothing for their children.
- 90¢90 cents of every dollar donated to this emergency went directly to our emergency response work in the field.
- 10¢10 cents per dollar covers the essential administrative costs of raising public awareness and fundraising to generate more support for UNICEF’s emergency response.
How do we use each dollar donated?
If you choose to donate monthly, or in the unlikely event that UNICEF receives more funds than needed for this emergency response, your gift will help support UNICEF's work for children in need around the world.
Looking for other ways to support children in Afghanistan?
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.