Life is dire for children in Afghanistan, one year since the Taliban took control of the country. 

They’re facing extreme hunger, exploitation, a loss of their education, endless disease outbreaks and, for many children, death. It’s a humanitarian catastrophe.

Crippling drought and the economic crisis are the key drivers pushing Afghanistan to the brink of collapse, with food prices, unemployment and poverty skyrocketing.

Children are going to bed hungry night after night. They’re exhausted and wasting away, unable to play and study like they used to. Millions of children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition – a silent killer.

Children are sad, worried and scared, but they haven’t lost hope, and now is not the time to turn our backs on Afghanistan’s children.

Your support is critical to save their lives – and their futures.

Watch this short video to see the positive impact Save the Children supporters have been making for children in Afghanistan.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/YIcw8jPY-zQ?autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&rel=0

Meet Reza*

Thirteen-year-old Reza* lives with his extended family in Afghanistan. Their community is very remote and only accessed by a single, sandy track. Clean water, a permanent health clinic and a school are all in the city – which is a full day’s walk away.

On the rolling hills surrounding their homes, Reza’s community used to survive on livestock and growing wheat. He remembers life back then, when they would go to the desert to collect plants to sell and for the animals to eat.

Reza said life was better back then than it is now.  After years of drought, the community’s wheat harvests have failed, and families have been forced to sell their livestock because they can’t feed them. People are thirsty but there’s no water.

Reza is also still dealing with the loss of his 18-month-old niece Sitara*. When she became severely sick, the family had no money to take her to a doctor. He told Save the Children, “When she [Sitara] died, it was hard for us. If we’d had money and had treated her, it wouldn’t have been as hard. We lost her due to a lack of money. She was very sick, and that sickness took her from us.”

It’s a heart-breaking situation but Save the Children supporters are bringing hope to children in Afghanistan. We’ve ramped up our programmes, particularly our mobile health clinics which can reach remote regions. Save the Children’s mobile health clinic now visits Reza’s community regularly.

When Reza’s nephew, Abdul-Karim*, became sick with diarrhoea and vomiting, he was treated by our medical teams. As part of the malnutrition programme, Abdul-Karim was provided with nutritious therapeutic paste to give him the nutrients he was missing.  

Reza and his family also received clean water when 10 truckloads were delivered to their community! And they’ve been given cash grants so they can buy essentials they need to survive.

We’ve been supporting communities and protecting children’s rights across Afghanistan since 1976. With your help, we’ll continue to be there for as long as children need us. 

*names changed to protect identities

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