NEW YORK, 13 September – Save the Children is urging aid-giving governments not to turn their backs on millions of hungry Afghan children ahead of a high-level UN meeting on Afghanistan today.  

Afghanistan is in the grip of a severe humanitarian emergency which is growing more serious by the day as a result of rising food prices, drought and displacement, the agency warned.  

The country has the second highest number of people facing emergency levels of hunger in the world, with an estimated 5.5 million children projected to face crisis levels of hunger in the second half of this year. Even before the recent escalation in violence, half of all children aged under five were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. This number is now expected rise due to the combined effects of drought, COVID-19 and recent disruptions to aid efforts.

Gwen Hines, CEO of Save the Children UK, said more aid was urgently needed to save lives. 

“For years, Afghanistan’s children have been battling to survive, but the odds are increasingly stacked against them. Ongoing conflict, combined with the climate crisis and Covid-19 have devastated Afghanistan and pushed millions of people towards starvation. Afghanistan has been hit by disaster after disaster, and children are paying for it with their lives. 

“More aid is desperately needed if Afghan children are going to have even a fighting chance of survival. Save the Children will continue doing everything we can to get life-saving services to children and their families, but for aid efforts to continue, we urgently need governments to step up and meet the increased need.  

The UK Government must step up and lead. In addition to its long history of involvement in Afghanistan, the UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and president of the G7. It has a responsibility to use this influence to ensure the international community invests in Afghanistan’s future before any progress made there unravels completely.

Now is not the time to turn our backs on Afghan children.”

Save the Children is an independent, impartial, and politically neutral organisation that has worked in Afghanistan since 1976 to deliver lifesaving services to children and their families across the country.  The organisation provided health, education, child protection, nutrition, and livelihood services to more than 1.6 million Afghans in 2020. 

ENDS

Save the Children has launched a petition that calls on world leaders to ensure Afghan children get the aid they need, and to create safe and legal routes to those wanting to reach safety and build a new life.

• Petition: https://action.savethechildren.org.uk/page/88491/data/1
• Donation page: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/how-you-can-help/emergencies/support-our-emergency-fund

For more information, please contact:

Media@savethechildren.org.uk  

+44 7831 650 409  

For more information, please contact:

Media@savethechildren.org.uk  

+44 7831 650 409