KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday that infectious diseases are spreading in Afghanistan’s earthquake-hit provinces, where overcrowding, unsafe water, and a fragile health system are putting survivors at growing risk.
The UN agency said outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea, malaria, measles, and dengue fever are already underway. It added that the approaching winter is expected to drive a surge in respiratory infections.
WHO stated that the earthquake has also taken a toll on mental health, with families facing grief, trauma, displacement, and loss of livelihoods. Pregnant women, infants, and the elderly are among the most vulnerable groups.
According to the agency, one-third of people in the affected areas live with noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic respiratory illnesses. “For these patients, losing medicines, prescriptions, or assistive devices poses life-threatening risks if treatment stops,” WHO warned.
WHO has appealed for US$6.9 million to support trauma care, mobile health teams, outbreak surveillance, and mental health services. So far, only a fraction has been secured, leaving nearly half a million people at risk of being left without essential healthcare as winter sets in.
The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck on August 31, hitting Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan provinces, with Kunar suffering the heaviest damage.
According to the United Nations, about 2,000 people — most of them children — were killed, nearly 4,000 injured, and more than 6,700 homes destroyed. The quake and several aftershocks also damaged dozens of health centers, schools, and water systems, worsening the humanitarian emergency.
UN agencies and aid groups have called for urgent international support, warning that many survivors remain without shelter and basic necessities. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has requested $139.6 million to assist nearly 500,000 people directly affected by the disaster over the next four months.
