UNICEF: Children Are the Main Victims of the Eastern Afghanistan Earthquake
- Zan News
- Sep 14
- 2 min read
UNICEF on Sunday (September 14), through a message from the organization’s representative in Afghanistan, warned about the extensive child casualties following the recent earthquakes in the east of the country and called for urgent action to support the affected people.
Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, said in the message that the August 31 earthquake in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces was “extremely, extremely devastating” and that children have borne the greatest burden of this disaster.
According to UNICEF, among more than 2,200 deaths, at least 1,172 children have lost their lives, a figure that makes up more than half of the victims. In addition, more than three thousand people have been injured and about 6,700 houses have been completely or partially destroyed. Many survivors, especially children, have lost their caretakers and are now struggling with psychological trauma and homelessness.
The UNICEF representative warned that with the approach of winter, time is running out and if urgent action is not taken, thousands of children and women will be at risk of being left without shelter, food, and health services. He emphasized that this disaster is not just a natural incident but another blow to the lives of children whose childhoods had already been lost to war, poverty, and recurring crises.
Meanwhile, Taliban restrictions on the work of women in humanitarian activities have made the relief process more difficult, leaving those in need, especially women and children, at risk of being deprived of essential services. In many cases, affected women have been unable to receive aid in the absence of female aid workers.
UNICEF has called on the international community to stand by the children who survived the earthquake and to undertake immediate and sustained support for them.
