Two years have passed since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, and the humanitarian crisis in the country remains dire. 29.2 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance. The country has been plagued by three consecutive years of drought, leaving around 20 million Afghans facing severe food insecurity (IPC). Of these, 6 million are in the "emergency phase”.
While the organisations must scale up the assistance and services due to the increasing need for humanitarian and development assistance in Afghanistan, the humanitarian response plan is severely underfunded, with only 22% of the appeal has been funded (as of June 2023).
Afghanistan is highly prone to natural hazards like droughts, earthquakes, floods, harsh winters, etc., whose frequency and intensity are exacerbated by climate change, increasing humanitarian needs, and structural limitations in mitigating the risk of these hazards. The country is ranked number 5 of the most climate at-risk countries worldwide, with a higher warming rate than the global average.
Save the Children’s assessment found that more than a third (38.4%) of children surveyed in Afghanistan have been pushed into work to help their families cope with soaring levels of poverty and hunger. Children are being forced into dangerous situations to support themselves and their families, with staff from the child rights organisation reporting that one girl was crushed to death by a truck as she was smuggling goods over a border crossing.
We have been working in Afghanistan since 1976 to deliver lasting change to the lives of children across the country. We work closely with children, parents, teachers, village councils, religious leaders, government ministries, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders. Our programmes focus on education, health and nutrition, child protection, food security and livelihood, and humanitarian response.
We also help children learn by ensuring both girls and boys are in school. Our programmes provide the opportunity for children that have left school to access community-based education opportunities as well as return to the formal education system and we work with the government to support quality education.
We provide quality healthcare and nutrition services to help children survive, especially in humanitarian contexts. We help build the capacity of health workers, and support static and mobile health teams.
Together with our partners, we aim to protect children from all forms of violence. Our work focuses on reducing incidences of violence against children, including physical and humiliating punishments in homes and schools. We also support and protect children that are especially vulnerable such as girls, internally displaced children, returnees and children who are affected by conflict. Our programming is complimented by ongoing advocacy and communications efforts which aim to ensure public awareness and implementation of children’s rights.
Save the Children Afghanistan Country office
