Theyve raised more than $100,000 so far. Our approach is to target the root causes of child homelessness, neglect, and disempowerment through programs centered on healthcare, school feeding, formal education, and life skills training. One patient, a widow with five children, begged Amini and the senior doctor for money, medicine, and food. They found temporary shelter in a camp near Herat, the third-largest city in Afghanistan and one of World Visions primary program areas. But one day this past January, the 24-year-old realized that providing health care might not be enough. Many of them are in the wards for malnourished children, where two to three babies share each bed. Women and children line up outside bakeries before dawn to get bread. Many Afghans, 53% of those interviewed by Gallup, have said they want to leave their country permanently. (Their names are not being used for their safety. Working and dedicating their time to others keeps them too busy to think about what theyve lost, explains the 19-year-old. Theyre children like 1-year-old Ahmad*. Learn Afghanistan started three years ago, developing digital tools for home learning, but last September began doing meal and food distributions as well. Thats why UNICEF teams are on the ground, going above and beyond to help children learn, stay healthy and feel protected. Ahmads sunken eyes and transparent-looking skin signaled severe deficiencies of vitamins and nutrients; he was suffering from acute malnutrition. Sultan Mohammad Sedaqat, 35, raises his gun to disperse women who had gathered around food packages from the World Food Programme at an aid distribution in Maidan Shahr. Shes only 14, and already a motivational speaker with several awards under her belt for her advocacy in support of children and adolescents with disabilities in Pakistan. Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -. By the time parents decide to bring their children in for treatment, you can be sure that the whole family is struggling. Weak and fragile, four-month-old Najeeb was badly malnourished. Conflict last year had forced more than 700,000 Afghans to leave their homes and added to the 5.5 million people already displaced over past years, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday. I wanted to see how we respond to humanitarian crises and how we help build systems longer term, so last week I went to Pakistan and Afghanistan. His father and an older brother, both soldiers, were killed in the war, leaving Zahid responsible for his family. Amini and Zahid bring the food to Mirwais Hospital, where Mohammad Sadiq, 50, waits with a list of patients most in need of a meal donation. Saliha, who like many Afghans uses just one name, took her infant son to the Indira Gandhi Childrens Hospital in Kabul. All donations are tax deductible in full or in part. Our dedicated staff will continue their work to empower families, children, communities, and local partners to prevent and respond to exploitation, neglect, abuse, and other forms of violence affecting children, especially girls. When I looked in her eyes, I could see she was pleading with me: Please, can you do something? Afghans now view the U.S. in the same light as they do Russia, the survey said, noting that disapproval of the American leadership has risen to a record 84% even higher than the 76% who disapprove of the Russian leadership. As I was talking to the mother, I put my hand on her back and I could feel her bones. Nine-month-old Salma* weighed no more than a newborn, even with the multiple layers of clothing she was wrapped in. Hotaki used to cook for weddings and the occasional funeral, but now he receives more and more orders from NGOs distributing food to needy people. Why play is so important and how to enable every child to benefit. Many of them are women who are no longer welcome in their professions, like police officers and prosecutors. Since the August 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The young womens supervisor jokes that their own money isnt safe with them because they give out cash to everyone they meet. They are literally facing starvation.. People are absolutely desperate, Stephen Carter, an Afghanistan expert at the London-based NGO Global Witness, told VOA. The 24-year-old and the 19-year-old are there to shop for one of the 55 families they support through a secret network. The number has shot up within the last year many of them children who arent getting enough to eat. Heres what its like to dive French Polynesias shark alley, Theres a better way to hike the Inca Trail, 10 epic family adventures for last-minute planners. She studied midwifery because her parents thought it would be the best path to a job as a woman in Afghanistan's deeply conservative south. World Vision is currently serving children and families in over 2,000 villages throughout Afghanistan, and were well placed to continue responding. If you give me a food package, I will eat for one month, he says. In a country with a population of close to 40 million, only 5.7 million vaccine doses have been given, while 177,255 cases and 7,656 deaths have been reported as of March 23, 2022 (with actual figures likely higher). The COVID-19 pandemic created additional risks to Afghan children, including by limiting their access to education, health and social services, child protection activities, and safe spaces. I want to be a normal child. I cant forget her eyes; they were trying to tell me what was in her heart, her very being I want to survive, I want to live a normal life.. Men waiting in line for aid in Maidan Shahr say they cant find work. Invasive green crabs: If you can't beat them, eat them. I was trying to remember a time when Afghans were really happy, and I couldn't think of one, he says. Extreme vulnerabilities and fear are at record levels, and children are at greater risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation, says Asuntha, the national director.

Photograph by Kiana Hayeri for National Geographic. When the United States withdrew and the Taliban seized control in August 2021, that aid was cut. We also aim to reach one million people through vocational skills training, one million children through school feeding, and millions more people both directly and indirectly through programmes that will protect and boost the agricultural livelihoods upon which so much of the population depends, added the UN Representative. More than one million children under the age of five eat so little that they are acutely malnourished, and one out of three adolescent girls suffer from anemia, according to UNICEF. So far this year, humanitarian partners have supported 8.2 million people with life-saving and life-sustaining food assistance, including emergency food rations, school meals, agricultural supplies and nutritious foods and supplements for nursing mothers and their infants. For millions living in camps for the displaced or sitting outside government ministries seeking help, the only source of warmth is to huddle around open wood-burning fires. Spreading baseless reports of disappointments among people is the work of the enemies of Afghanistan, the spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, tweeted Tuesday. The UNICEF Blogpromotes childrens rights and well-being, and ideas about ways to improve their lives and the lives of their families. The family has been subsisting on potatoes, bread, and rice. The senior UN official urged Member States to dig deep for the Afghanistan people and continue generously supporting life-saving efforts. With prices rising, many families can't afford basic food items. Issued on: 13/06/2022 - 16:00Modified: 13/06/2022 - 16:04. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the United Nations says 97 percent of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. In the face of this grave humanitarian crisis, we aim to help 1 million Afghans over the coming months through proven programs in areas including food and nutrition assistance; healthcare; child protection; and clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. They just need support. Now the number is 1,500. In one ward, 10-year-old Aziza comforts and kisses her five-month-old cousin. The majority scramble to find food and fuel. All rights reserved. The long road to a better future is impossibleon anempty stomach.We do everything we can through comprehensive and coordinated effort to alleviate the impact of hunger&malnutrition in Afghanistan. This clinic is all the help that we get, and we are very glad, she says. Over the next months, the UN and its partners will continue to focus on scaling-up response activities, reaching previously underserved and remote areas that active conflict had rendered inaccessible. ), How raccoons became the ultimate urban survivors, Extremely rare spoonie bird added to ark of imperiled animals, Monarch butterflies are now an endangered species, Penguins are slow to evolve, making them vulnerable, For orphaned elephants, friends may be key to stress relief, These stunning insect close-ups reveal dazzling bug complexity, Extreme drought threatens Italys rice cropsand its beloved risotto, Increasingly heavy farm equipment is crushing fertile soils, The key to protecting Yosemites sequoias from wildfires? About 1 million are on the brink of starvation. We owe it to the Taqwas, Shahnazes, Amiraans and Wahidas of this world to give them the help they need to achieve the potential they are capable of. According to the United Nations, an estimated 97% of the population could be plunged into poverty by the middle of this year. A staggering 95 per cent of Afghans are not getting enough to eat, with that number rising to almost 100 percent in female-headed households, according to the UN Resident Coordinator, who is also deputy head of the UN assistance mission, UNAMA. While three in four Afghans cannot afford food for their families, according to the survey, the gender gap widened with 82% of women struggling to buy food versus 69% of men. She told me she wanted to be a Secretary-General of the United Nations when she grows up, and with a resume like that at such a young age, I have no doubt that shes destined for greatness. The boys mother has to work every day to provide for the family. We need political will. The fate of an entire generation of Afghans is at stake, he said, assuring that the UN would continue, over the coming weeks, to provide regular updates. Those wards are filling with children, sometimes several to a bed, and deaths are increasingly commonplace, says Asuntha. World Vision works to ensure thirsty communities are served, with a primary focus on providing households, schools, and health facilities with lasting solutions for clean water. On the southern outskirts of Kandahar, women covered in sun-bleached burqas hold children in their arms as they wait outside a small health facility. Can we hack DNA in plants to help fight climate change? The centre opened a second class for girls and Shahnaz is now able to study freely. Instead, he aspired to join the Afghan army, until it collapsed last summer.

Three-quarters of the countrys public spending had been funded by foreign aid. Its better to give me 10 hens so I can eat their eggs and sell the rest on the market.. 2022 World Vision, Inc. All rights reserved. Were also advocating for U.S. governmental policies that support funding for humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. Orphaned 10 days after his birth, Ahmad couldnt stop crying during a checkup at a health clinic, one of 21 operated by World Vision in four of Afghanistans provinces. The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is becoming the worst in the world. At Mandawi, one of Kabuls largest markets, three young people buy food and other basic necessities for poor and politically vulnerable families. More than 2,000 Afghans ages 15 and up were interviewed in two rounds of questioning which was which was conducted inside Afghanistan between August 9 and September 29 of last year, Julie Ray from Gallup told VOA. He is sick and so weak, Aziza says. Linguistic shift to English leads Rwanda to host its first Commonwealth summit, War in Ukraine: Authorities face colossal challenge of reconstruction, With its ports unsafe, Ukraine scrambles for alternative ways to export grain, In Namibia, sheepdogs becomes unlikely allies in protecting cheetahs, Meet the Ukrainian forces using French-supplied Caesar howitzers, Afghan refugees welcomed with open arms in US state of Texas. Since September 2021, weve reached 449,646 people. FILE - An Afghan girl warms up her hands as she takes a break from carrying water canisters, in Balucha, Afghanistan, Dec. 14, 2021. This situation is very dangerous. Conflict forced Aina and her family from their hometown three years ago. An estimated 22.8 million Afghan people, more than half the countrys population, are facing potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity and malnutrition this year.

The opinions expressed on the UNICEF Blog are those of the author(s) and may not necessarily reflect UNICEF's official position. Day by day, the situation is deteriorating in this country, and especially for children who are suffering, says Asuntha Charles, national director of World Vision Afghanistan. But they say theyre also trying to help themselves. Neither parent can read and yet they are both intent on sending their children to school. Last year, the plastic roof collapsed after a heavy snowfall. As we collectively support millions of Afghans to rebuild their lives and communities, we must remember that the long road to a better future is impossible on empty stomach, he said. On most days, the family lives on bread and water. The IUCN also announced that sturgeon are in rapid decline, while tiger populations are stabilizing. Increasing access to skilled birth attendants has helped to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in western Afghanistan. My full statement:https://t.co/lHP2fa5Se4:@WFP_Afghanistan @FAOAfghanistan pic.twitter.com/4WhmtDvEur. Laborers offload 900 sacks of flour from a truck that has arrived at the World Food Programmes warehouse in Kandahar. This is Wahida from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Shes also 14 and lives inan impoverished community of 110 families on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistans Balochistan. They grew up during the American occupation with war and hardship, but also with dreams and promises of a better future and more possibilities in life than their parents had. Now run by 15 employees and numerous volunteers, the organizations work is funded by contributions from local businessmen and a GoFundMe campaign where donations range from a few dollars to several thousand. History has shown that the resilience and fortitude of the Afghan people is extraordinary. Is Canada's immigration ministry purposely refusing visas to French-speaking African students? Amiraan is 14 and also from Quetta. We do not have money to buy baby food or milk for him, explained Aina. Saeeda has five children two daughters and three sons. Not only children but even adults are becoming malnourished, and medicines are getting more expensive. Mursal is pregnant and her husband, Sharif, has had a hard time finding work since the previous government collapsed. When the father finds work, he brings home some potatoes. Her trip to meet me in Islamabad was her first time ever visiting a city. The author cradles three-month-old Wahida at the UNICEF-supported inpatient department for the treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition in Kandahar, Afghanistan. But for us to do this work well and do it meaningfully, we need funding. Women in Kandahar don't commonly work alone outside the house, and many widows struggle to provide for their children. First humanitarian flight to Kabul marks'turning point' in crisis:WFP, Afghanistans healthcare system on brink of collapse, as hunger hits 95 per cent of families, Afghanistanon countdown to catastrophewithout urgenthumanitarianrelief, Displacement, humanitarian needs surging inside Afghanistan and across region. As much as Sadiq appreciates these efforts to meet immediate needs, the doctor worries about the future.

They are struggling financially and live in hiding. France 24 is not responsible for the content of external websites. The statistics provided by the United Nations are grim: almost 24 million people in Afghanistan, about 60 percent of the population, suffer from acute hunger. The bitter cold of Afghanistans winter has small children huddled beneath blankets in makeshift camps, while sick babies in hospitals lie wrapped in their mothers all-enveloping burqas. I rock him back and forth until he falls asleep. Get inspiring articles and news delivered to your inbox. But it has its limits. Families who are already struggling to survive destitution related to this conflict, a devastating drought, and the effects of COVID-19 are now resorting to the most desperate of measures to protect their children, including child marriage. Ten-year-old Aziza kisses and comforts her five-month-old cousin, Ezatullah, who has been hospitalized for acute malnourishment at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. Unacceptable trade-offs have caused untold suffering, reduced the quality, quantity, and diversity of food available, led to high levels of wasting in children, and other harmful impacts on the physical and mental wellbeing of women, men, and children, he spelled out. Although Zahid is pleased to do some good, he doesnt plan to be an aid worker forever. Although a massive humanitarian response mounted since August has prevented our worst fears from being realized over the winter, Dr. Alakbarov reminded that food insecurity and malnutrition remain at historic highs and require an immediate, sustained, and large-scale humanitarian response.. The World Food Programme distributes 600 food packages to people who have been registered in advance. Poverty is growing even in the capital, where the middle class has traditionally been large. Shes three months old and severely malnourished. (The womens names are not being used for their safety.). Eighty percent of the patients are either malnourished or suffering from other conditions related to poverty, he says. ), While the international community is trying to figure out how to help the Afghan people without benefiting the Taliban, young Afghans, including Amini, realize that they cant afford to wait for foreign aid to resume at full scale.

For many of Afghanistans poorest, bread is their only staple. Several of the women receiving food donations from LEARN Afghanistan are widows. Honestly, I couldnt sleep last night thinking of a small girl, says Asuntha, a 12-year-old who looked so much younger than her age. Win-win. We are all exhausted, says 23-year-old Arzo Hotak, who advises mothers of malnourished toddlers on what to feed them and how. All rights reserved. That money, now cut off, financed hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries. At the clinic, medical staff measure the circumference of childrens upper arms to determine the extent of their malnutrition. Our recently launched start-up project to protect children is already benefiting over 400 households. (Historic images show the century-long struggle for Afghanistan. As of August 2021, our COVID-19 response which includes scaling prevention measures to slow the spread of the virus, supporting health workers, and more has helped protect 663,672 people, including 314,492 children. Naqibullah, a member of the Taliban, argues with women who have been waiting in line for food donations since the early morning hours in Maidan Shahr, the capital of Wardak Province in central Afghanistan. While acknowledging that humanitarian assistance alone is not enough to address todays or tomorrows challenges, he underscored that it is absolutely necessary to keep people alive and healthy, and to prevent vulnerable people in the most precarious situations from sliding ever further into need. Even some World Food Programme employees say that they struggle to feed their extended families. Some distribute clothes to needy families in northern Badakhshan Province. One year ago, the clinic received about 500 patients a month. Thats why World Vision is committed to continue delivering life-saving aid to children and families, as we have in Afghanistan for 20 years providing food, healthcare, access to clean water and sanitation and hygiene support, and more. Her mother brought her to the hospital for treatment. There is not enough money for hospitals. Ramiz Alakbarov, who also serves as Deputy Special Representative, issued a statement saying that acute hunger in the country rose from 14 million in July, to 23 million in March, forcing households to resort to desperate measures to put food on the table. However, many people without registration cards beg for aid. [Salma] is here because she is so malnourished.. We need a clear commitment from everyone to always put children first. We want them to have better opportunities in life, she told me. Deciding on which country to visit first felt a bit like choosing a favourite child. Meet Taqwa Ahmad, from Punjab, Pakistan. When they learned that he didnt have heating in his house, they asked him to drive straight to a market where they bought him a stove and some firewood. He is contemplating leaving the country to find work abroad. At the centre, Amiraan learned basic math which gave him the confidence to set up his own vegetable stall in the market, along with a fellow student. All donations are tax deductible in full or in part. He explained that since mid-August, over 2,500 nutrition treatment sites across all 34 provinces, both urban and rural, have been serving 800,000 acutely malnourished children, and we plan to reach 3.2 million affected children this year. Amini started doing humanitarian work with Learn Afghanistan, a local education NGO that branched out to providing emergency aid as the need grew in recent months. He has been having diarrhea and fever, said Aina*, an Afghan mother of six who is caring for Ahmad. As Afghanistan continues to grapple with the effects of a terrible drought, the prospect of another bad harvest this year, a banking and financial crisis so severe that it has left more than 80 per cent of the population facing debt, and an increase in food and fuel prices, the UN official attested, we cannot ignore the reality facing communities. The roof leaks every time it rains. I just wish I could work at night too, she says. More than half the population24 million Afghansis in need of vital humanitarian assistance, according to UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Hotak, however, always wanted to become a diplomat in Washington, D.C. With this situation, actually, Im helping people more in this job, she says. I dont let her go outside because if she catches any sickness I cant pay for treatment.. Dry conditions have continued through 2022. Afghanistans displacement crisis is one of the largest and most protracted in history, according to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, with more than 5 million people in prolonged displacement. Since the Taliban re-took control of Afghanistan in August of 2021, the country has seen worsening poverty rates, and Afghans say respect for womens rights has plummeted. Two-year-old Nabi gives his mother, 21-year-old Mursal, a kiss (left). As a result of this critical work, thousands of people are now able to access clean water through a solar-powered piped water network in Herat. Early one morning, two friends head out to a large market in Kabul where lentils and grains are sold from open sacks. He wanted to reach into his pocket and give the woman some cash. On a sunny February morning in Kandahar,the countrys second-largest city located in the south,Mohammad Kabir Hotaki, 32, watches two large pots of rice and chicken stew bubbling over an open fireplace in the backyard of a rental company that provides cutlery and carpets for wedding parties. Every morning at six, she studies political science at a private university before opening the clinic at 8:30 am. The author visiting Saeedas family at their home in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ahmad was his familys sole survivor. Latifa, 55, stands outside as her grandchildren peer through a window of the family's makeshift house. She was stunted in growth, highly malnourished she was skin and bones. When I held her, I could barely feel her weight in my arms. That night, Amini lay sleepless in bed, overwhelmed by the thought of how many other Afghan families out there needed help. Aid alone is not a sustainable solution; it should be in combination with development, says Sadiq, who has worked at the hospital for 18 years. Afghan children dream to be educated and enjoy fullness of life they deserve nothing less, says Edgar Sandoval Sr., president and CEO of World Vision U.S. We must act together now to prevent an unprecedented humanitarian disaster and to support the children of Afghanistan and their families in the coming weeks and months.. Now, Aina struggled to keep Ahmad alive. Poll: Nearly All Afghans Say They Are Suffering. In both Pakistan and Afghanistan, I heard stories of suffering but also stories of hope. But this aid is dwindling fast and the situation, which hascontinuallyworsened since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, is reaching a critical stage. For a recent lunch, Mursal added tomato paste to the potatoes (right).

(Photographer Kiana Hayeri gives an inside look at the fall of Kabul. Still, she holds on to her dream despite the Talibans resistance to women working. The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore. By partnering with local community leaders in Afghanistan for many years, weve been able to respond to crises and equip them to help create positive, sustainable change in their communities. We are proud to be reviewed and held accountable by these independent third-party organizations: World Vision Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. She looked 5 years old.

One of the first things I wanted to do as Executive Director is to see for myself how we work on the ground to help children and to meet some of the teams working day and night to do that. The people flooding into the public hospital where he works as a medical resident were not just sickthey were poor, hungry, and desperate for help. Kandahar, AfghanistanNavid Amini always knew he wanted to study medicine. See how stones, strength, and smarts built Stonehenge. They are now at their most vulnerable and we cannot abandon them., In 2021, 90% of World Vision's total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need.