Save the Children: More Than 260,000 Children Affected By Afghanistan Quake
More than 260,000 children have been affected by the recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, with about 280 left without parents, Save the Children said Thursday.
More than 260,000 children have been affected by the recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, with about 280 left without parents, Save the Children said Thursday.
The aid group said thousands of survivors will require long-term support and called for urgent assistance to meet immediate needs. It noted that children are struggling with grief and trauma as aftershocks continue to unsettle affected communities.
Save the Children described the quake as Afghanistan’s deadliest in nearly 30 years. The organisation also reported a severe shortage of temporary shelters, with some survivors forced to use rice sacks as bedding.
The International Christian Concern (ICC), a US-based organisation, has expressed concern over the potential deportation of Afghan Christian refugees from the United States.
The organisation stated that Afghan Christian refugees have received official notices indicating they could be deported to Afghanistan at any moment.
The ICC noted that its findings suggest that while US authorities show empathy towards Afghan Christian refugees, they have been unwilling to provide firm guarantees or substantial assistance. According to the statement, US officials have directed Afghan Christian refugees to pursue their cases through standard immigration channels.
The religious organisation raised its concerns following a report published last week by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The USCIRF, also based in the US, stated in its report that the Taliban continues to suppress and target religious minorities in Afghanistan.
Vicky Hartzler, Chair of the USCIRF, said: “If forced to return to Afghanistan, all Afghans, including religious minorities, are at severe risk of persecution.”
The ICC highlighted that Afghan Christians are primarily first-generation converts from Islam, who, if identified, face extremely severe penalties. The Taliban, driven by its ideological stance, considers conversion from Islam to be “apostasy,” which carries heavy punishments, including execution.
The ICC also noted that with the suspension of the US refugee admissions programme following Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the intake of religious groups facing persecution has been halted. The organisation’s statement explained that prior to the suspension, ethnic and religious minorities at risk of persecution could apply for refugee status. However, with the programme’s suspension, some refugees previously approved for entry into the US have been transferred to camps abroad.
The USCIRF has called for the reinstatement of Temporary Protected Status for Afghan refugees. Asif Mahmood, Vice-Chair of the USCIRF, stated: “By prioritizing vulnerable Afghan religious minorities, the administration and Congress signal their commitment to freedom of religion or belief.”
The recent earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan have not only caused widespread deaths and destruction but also taken a toll on the mental health of survivors, especially women and children in Kunar province, medical sources said.
Doctors told Afghanistan International that psychological stress and fear triggered by the quakes are disrupting women’s hormonal systems, causing a reduction in breast milk production. They said mothers need urgent psychological as well as physical support.
“In the past few days, many mothers have come to the clinic saying their milk has dried up,” a female doctor in Kunar said. “This is natural because fear and stress change women’s hormones.”
She added that clinics face severe shortages of equipment and staff. “We have very limited facilities. There are no programmes for psychological support. We have no female psychologists, only a few midwives and nurses. This is a major challenge for us.”
Medical sources said some districts in Kunar have very few female doctors and almost no female psychologists to help traumatised women.
A psychologist, using the pseudonym Mohammad, warned that the lack of mental health support poses serious risks to the lives of women and children. He urged international aid groups and health organisations to launch programmes providing psychological assistance.
Residents of Kunar said the earthquake destroyed homes and left deep psychological scars. They appealed to the Taliban and international organisations to provide targeted medical and mental health support for survivors to protect mothers and children.
The earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan have killed 2,205 people and injured more than 3,640, according to Taliban figures.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that nearly 84,000 people in Afghanistan have been directly or indirectly affected by the disaster.
Nearly 84,000 people have been directly or indirectly affected by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Thursday.
The organisation reported that 98 percent of homes in quake-hit areas were either completely destroyed or severely damaged.
Taliban officials said the quake in Kunar province has killed 2,205 people and injured more than 3,640.
The Red Cross and the Afghan Red Crescent described the humanitarian situation in the affected areas as “extremely fragile and deteriorating,” warning of severe shortages of food, medicine and shelter.
Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, told Agence France-Presse the earthquake could affect hundreds of thousands of people.
Local rescue workers, operating with limited resources, are still trying to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed homes, reports said. Landslides, rockfalls and blocked roads have left many villages cut off.
Alongside widespread destruction, poor weather and declining international aid are making the emergency response even harder.
Aid groups and humanitarian experts said the disaster should serve as a wake-up call to the international community.
An official from the Norwegian Refugee Council said Afghanistan cannot face such a catastrophe alone and urged the world to provide broad and sustained support.
The United Nations on Thursday called on Pakistan to temporarily stop deporting Afghan refugees as Afghanistan struggles with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake in the country’s east.
The quake killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes in border provinces. Many of the hardest-hit villages were home to families recently returned from Pakistan.
The UN Refugee Agency said continued deportations would further weaken Afghans’ ability to respond to the crisis. It urged Pakistan to pause removals out of humanitarian concern.
According to official figures, more than 1.2 million Afghans have been deported from Pakistan since 2023. So far this year alone, more than 443,000 have been forced to return.
The World Health Organization said Thursday it needs $4 million in urgent funding to provide life-saving assistance to survivors of the deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.
The agency warned that without immediate financial support, its ability to deliver critical health services and emergency aid will be severely limited.
The WHO said the requested funds would be used to provide essential medical care, expand mobile health teams and support water, sanitation and hygiene services in quake-hit areas.
The Taliban said the death toll from the earthquake has risen to 2,205.