KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed for $22 million to provide emergency relief to thousands of children and families affected by last week’s devastating earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.
The UN agency said on Wednesday that its six-month plan aims to reach 400,000 people, including more than 212,000 children, in the worst-hit areas. Support will include emergency health care, clean water, sanitation, nutrition, psychosocial services, and cash aid.
“Geographic isolation, limited infrastructure, and deeply conservative social norms make this one of the most complex emergency responses we’ve faced,” said Dr Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan. He added that the agency and its partners had been on the ground from the first day, delivering health care, safe water, and vital supplies.
UNICEF called on the international community to act swiftly to protect children before the harsh winter sets in, urging donors to support both immediate and long-term needs of quake-affected families.
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman on August 31, with Kunar suffering the heaviest damage. According to Taliban figures, the quake killed 2,205 people, injured nearly 4,000, and destroyed more than 6,700 homes.
The quake and its multiple aftershocks also damaged health centers, schools, and water and sanitation infrastructure, exacerbating humanitarian conditions in a country where over half the population depends on aid.
The appeal comes days after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs requested $139.6 million to support nearly half a million people affected by the disaster over the next four months.
