Families in western Afghanistan are reeling after a fourth earthquake in just over a week hit Herat Province, crumbling buildings and forcing people to flee once again, with thousands now living in tents exposed to fierce winds and dust storms. The cold windy weather has also started to hit the affected areas, especially at night.
Nearly 20,000 people have now been affected across six districts, with at least 1,400 people killed and 1,900 injured, most of whom are women and children who were in their homes when the quakes hit. Many people are sleeping in the open after their homes were destroyed, with many others terrified to go home due to fears of further shocks.
YOUR $120 can provide a family with enough food to last them for a month.
Children and families are now in a race against time to avoid the secondary impacts of the earthquakes, such as disease outbreaks, worsening hunger, and rising poverty.
This is a crisis on top of a crisis. Even before this disaster, children across Afghanistan like 12-year-old Temor* (on the picture above) were struggling with severe hunger. This disaster will make many of their lives even harder. Today, children are terrified with aftershocks continuing to be felt across the region, and many have lost everything, with thousands now homeless and forced to sleep out in the open.
PLEASE DONATE TODAY AND SAVE LIVES.
OUR WORK IN AFGHANISTAN
This devastating earthquake comes as Afghan children are already facing a critical humanitarian emergency. Unprecedented levels of hunger and malnutrition, a crippling economic crisis and the worst drought in 30 years have already left 2 in 3 people across the country in need of humanitarian support. Save the Children is deeply concerned about the impacts this earthquake will have on children and families already struggling to cope on a daily basis.
Save the Children has been working in Afghanistan since 1976, but the scale and severity of the current crisis is like nothing we have ever seen before. We have programmes in nine provinces and work with partners in an additional seven provinces, delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and food security and livelihood support.
We are coordinating with partners to get emergency assistance to the most impacted areas in Herat and are planning to provide families with emergency cash grants. These grants will help them buy life-saving items like food, clean water, and materials to rebuild their homes and cover medical bills.
DONATE NOW TO THE CHILD EMERGENCY FUND
Please donate to our Children Emergency Fund. Emergency responders are on the ground right now, but they are being overwhelmed by the scale of the need. Save the Children is coordinating with partners to get emergency assistance to the most impacted areas, to help families meet their immediate needs and to recover and rebuild their lives. By supporting our Emergency Fund, you can help us be there for children in Afghanistan and other emergencies around the world.
The needs are huge, but so is our determination to reach every last child in crisis.
We have the experience to limit the effects of disasters on children's lives - and our Child Emergency Fund is the key to unlocking this expertise. Thanks to your support, we can help millions of children in their darkest hour.
Please give now to our Child Emergency Fund today.
HOW YOUR DONATION CAN HELP
Our Child Emergency Fund is a central pot of funding for emergencies. It gives us the flexibility to respond quickly and wherever the need is greatest. Your donation will allow our response teams to react to emergencies around the world:
- $75 can provide a family with a hygiene kit which includes soaps, toothbrushes, towels, washing powder and pads.
- $120 can provide a family of eight with basic food commodities for a month.
- $500 can help reunite a lost child with their family after a disaster.
Your gift is urgently needed for these children and their families. Donate now to save the lives of children in crisis.
