UNICEF Warns of Health Crisis in Afghanistan

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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that one month after the devastating earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan, more than 212,000 surviving children are at serious risk of contracting diseases caused by a lack of clean water and proper sanitation.

In a statement issued on Thursday (October 16), UNICEF said that 132 water sources in the earthquake-affected areas have been destroyed, leaving families without access to safe drinking water and basic hygiene facilities.

According to the organization, health centers in the affected provinces have reported alarming increases in diseases such as skin rashes, dehydration, and acute diarrhea. UNICEF stressed that urgent action is needed to prevent the current situation from turning into a full-scale health crisis.

Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, described the situation as “a perfect storm for a public health disaster,” saying: “Children who survived the earthquake are now living in temporary shelters without clean water or toilets. These conditions could claim the lives of hundreds more children through disease.”

UNICEF also warned that the collapse of water and sanitation systems has put women and girls at greater risk of gender-based violence and insecurity in public spaces.

Despite ongoing relief efforts, only half of the required 21.6 million USD funding has been secured. The agency urged the international community to increase financial support immediately to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan in early September killed more than 1,200 children and leveled dozens of villages. According to Save the Children, the victims included more than 500 girls and 650 boys.