Afghanistan

Highlights • 23.7 million people, including 12.3 million children, need humanitarian assistance in 2024, mainly due to the residual impacts of a protracted conflict, extreme climate shocks and the country's severe economic decline, which is characterized by high unemployment and a fragile recovery. • Heavy rainfall across Afghanistan on 29 and 30…

26 April 2024, Kabul, Afghanistan – The European Union (EU) has provided EUR 15 million to UNICEF to prevent and treat malnutrition among women, adolescent girls and children and to improve water and sanitation services in Afghanistan. Afghanistan remains one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world with about 29 million people, including 15.…

Just two years ago, 10-year-old Nadia’s school in Badghis province, western Afghanistan had no water.  With 1,500 children enrolled at the school, the strain on the limited sanitation facilities, with no water, was enough to keep children away and missing critical learning hours. Nadia and her friends had a difficult time going hours without water…

Highlights • In 2024, 23.7 million people (12.4 million children) are in need of humanitarian assistance. In addition, approximately 180,000 people are at risk of natural disasters (54 per cent of them children). • The Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) projections for the period November 2023 to March 2024 highlighted a deterioration in food…

A series of earthquakes and aftershocks hit western Afghanistan in October 2023, killing more than 1,480 people, injuring close to 2,000 and affecting more than 275,000 people in nine districts. Over 30,000 houses were damaged, and 258 water systems were destroyed across the western province leaving children and families with no shelter, no safe…

In a country where 10 per cent of children under the age of five are malnourished and 45 per cent of children are stunted, the fight to end malnutrition starts with prevention, along with regular screening of children to monitor their growth. For children who fall through the cracks, UNICEF-supported health workers and supplies are ready to…

Highlights During the period 15 September 2023 to 27 January 2024, over 508,000 Afghan returnees from Pakistan have been registered. UNICEF continues to support the response at the Torkham and Spin Boldak Borders with Health, WASH, Nutrition, Child Protection and Social Behaviour Change interventions.   In January 2024, around  6.2 million people…

DAIKUNDI, AFGHANISTAN – “I am happy that I can help my father to read phone numbers.” 9-year-old Khadija lives in Afghanistan’s remote central highlands with her parents and three siblings. Until recently, she was one of millions of children not in school, as around half of children in Afghanistan do not attend primary school.   But Khadija’s…, Havens of learning and safety, Khadija had not been able to attend school for years. Her village lacked schools and classrooms, and Khadija had never been able to read or write even simple text. For many children like her, schools are more than places of learning. They offer safety, a chance to meet and play with other children. They help deter child labour and shelter children…, A friendly and fun new classroom, To Khadija’s delight, UNICEF established a new community-based classroom in her village in Daikundi. UNICEF helped select and train the teacher and continues to pay her salary, and provided materials like textbooks, backpacks, exercise books and pens for the students. In 2023, UNICEF supported over 21,000 community-based education classes across…, Parents supporting education in the community, Community-based classes like this one provide children in rural, hard-to-reach, or economically disadvantaged areas a pathway to quality education – at no cost. And when UNICEF establishes one of these classes, the entire community is mobilized. UNICEF and partners raise awareness about the importance of education, encouraging parents to send…

Ten-month-old Abbas is crying in his grandmother's lap, with tears rolling down his face over his parched lips. His grandmother, Fatema, adjusts his nasal tube but fails to comfort him. Abbas has pneumonia. He is one of 20 children being treated for acute respiratory infections (ARI) at the Sorabhi District Hospital Kabul Province, around 70…

Fatima, a 47-year-old community volunteer in western Afghanistan, recalls a time when it was common to give birth at home. All her seven children were born at home, with just her neighbors - older women from her village - assisting. “When we got sick, we went to a traditional healer. There was no protection from deadly diseases like polio and…

Highlights In 2023, Afghanistan continued to grapple with the consequences of four decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate-induced crises, and barriers to women’s equality and participation in public life.  Additionally, more than 489,000 Afghan returnees from Pakistan have been registered since 15 September 2023 and over 275,000 people…

TORKHAM BORDER, NANGARHAR, AFGHANISTAN – For many families, migration can offer hope for new economic opportunities. In Afghanistan, some parents even encourage or assist their children to migrate to earn money, even knowing the risks. But when children migrate alone, without family or guardians, it can expose them to harmful care situations,…, Undocumented across borders, “I talked to a smuggler, who promised to help me cross the Iran-Pakistan border if I paid,” he said. “I walked for many hours in the desert and slept in crowded and dirty places. I met other children in my situation, and some of them were sick, injured, or got lost.” He was scared and lonely, but several weeks later, he eventually arrived in Iran…, Respite at the UNICEF Drop-In Centre, Again, Matiullah braved the elements to walk for days. He entered Afghanistan from Iran, then crossed the country and tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan’s eastern Torkham border. “I had to avoid many checkpoints and mines. I didn’t have food or water or shelter.” But Matiullah could not re-enter Pakistan because he did not have…, Clean clothes and a hot meal, He followed the signs and found a bright, welcoming place where he met other children with similar stories. At the centre, UNICEF’s partner – the High Afghanistan Rehabilitation Organization (HARO) – gave Matiullah food, clean clothes, and a safe, comfortable place to sleep. He spent the next few days playing games and sports with the two other…, A family reunited, While Matiullah rested, UNICEF’s partner HARO was hard at work. Matiullah was registered as an unaccompanied minor. Social workers used their networks to trace his family members living in Afghanistan. Social workers discovered Matiullah’s aunt and uncle were living in Kabul, about four hours away. They called his family, verified their relation…