KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Kingdom has pledged an additional £3 million to support survivors of the earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan last month, bringing its total contribution to £4 million.
In a statement on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the funding will provide healthcare, clean water, and emergency shelter, and support women and girls with dignity and reproductive health kits.
The money will be channeled through international humanitarian organizations operating in Afghanistan, including the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Committee of the Red Cross, Afghanaid and War Child, according to the statement.
Cooper said the situation in Afghanistan remains grave as aid workers reach some of the most remote and badly affected areas. “With winter round the corner it is essential that there is a collective effort to address the needs of people made vulnerable by this tragedy,” she added.
The new funding comes in addition to £1 million that the UK announced on September 2 in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
The 6.0 magnitude quake struck on 31 August, hitting the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman. Kunar sustained the heaviest damage.
According to UN figures, the quake killed about 2,000 people, most of them children, injured nearly 4,000, and destroyed more than 6,700 homes. Multiple aftershocks also damaged health centers, schools, and water facilities, worsening the humanitarian situation in a country where more than half the population relies on aid.
UN agencies and aid groups have called for urgent international support, warning that many survivors remain without shelter and other basic necessities. Women and children are among the most vulnerable.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has requested $139.6 million to help nearly 500,000 people directly affected by the disaster over the next four months.
