The situation for children in Afghanistan is dire.
Afghanistan Crisis
-
Please donate now
Could provide enough food and medicine to treat a malnourished child for around 3 months.
Afghanistan has been hit by its worst earthquake in two decades.
It's reportedly killed over 1000 people, and injured at least 1,500 - and sadly, we expect those numbers to rise.
We're deeply worried for more than 118,000 children - we have reports of people sheltering in the open, under plastic sheets.
Many children are likely to be without clean drinking water, food and a safe place to sleep.
This is another devastating blow to a country already on its knees. Children in Afghanistan have already endured years of suffering.
Please donate to our Emergency Fund
Our Emergency Fund lets us to respond to disasters like this around the world. Immediately.
We have emergency supplies - like blankets, children's clothes and tarpaulins - ready to be transported to children and families who need them. We're also ready to provide cash assistance, which is so important in crises like this when families have lost everything.
Your support can help children and families devastated by disaster - like the earthquake in Afghanistan - to stay safe and healthy.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AFGHANISTAN?
In the worst humanitarian crisis on earth, the situation for children is desperate.
Millions are cut off from life-saving services. Children face extreme hunger and the lethal winter cold.
With the economy spiralling out of control, 97% of families are expected to fall below the poverty line this year.
But together there is hope. Together, we’ve already reached almost half a million children since September. Together, we can help many more make it through the toughest moments of their lives – and start building a better future.
What we're doing to help children in Afghanistan
Your incredible generosity means we can be there for children in Afghanistan.
Since September, you've helped us reach over 764,000 people – including more than 430,000 children.
Thanks to you, we’ve:
- set up 70 mobile health teams
- provided vital health and nutrition services to 187,000 children, including emergency treatment for acute malnutrition to more than 28,000
- provided 30,000 children with learning kits, made sure tens of thousands of girls could go to school, and gave children with visual and hearing impairments specialist support so they could get an education
- delivered cash to over 21,200 families so they can buy essential food, fuel and medicine
- created safe spaces and provided expert psychological support to help children recover from their traumatic experiences
- reached 1,400 families with winter kits so far – and plan to reach more than 14,000 more – so they have the warm clothes, shelter and fuel they need to make it through the winter.
And we’re providing support to those who've been forced to flee Afghanistan. We're working with refugees in Pakistan, across Europe and in the US to ensure vulnerable children are kept safe and protected
Light and laughter, even in the toughest times
Laila's* chance to smile
Laila and other children play outside after their class at Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space in a displacement camp in Balkh province, Afghanistan
Laila*, 12, was forced to flee her home after her father was killed. She now lives with her mother and four siblings in a camp where families have to dig their homes under the frozen ground to survive the bitter winter cold.
To support her family, Laila* had to work cleaning people’s houses, earning as little as 10 Afghanis – that’s less than 8p – a day.
But together, we’re giving Laila the chance of the future she deserves. She’s attending a safe space we’ve created for children in the camp – the only place where she can just be a child; where she’s free to learn, smile and play.
Now we’re keeping Laila laughing and learning through these dark days, she can start to look forward to a bright future. “I would like to be educated and become a teacher,” she says.
*Names changed
WATCH: 'WHERE HUNGER, ECONOMIC WOE AND CLIMATE CRISIS COLLIDE'
Latest Afghanistan blogs:
The lives of 23 million Afghans are at risk
Hunger and heartbreak
Children at the heart of Afghanistan's hunger crisis
*Page last updated 23 June 2022
Donate to the Emergency Fund
More ways to get involved
Your browser or network settings do not allow features used by this page. Please try a different browser or network.