US yet to approve any help following Afghanistan earthquake, sources say

September 8, 2025

By

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Nearly a week after an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in Afghanistan and left tens of thousands homeless, the United States has not taken the first step to authorize emergency aid, and it was unclear if it plans to help at all, two former senior U.S. officials and a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
The lack of response by Washington to one of Afghanistan’s deadliest quakes in years underscores how President Donald Trump has forfeited decades of U.S. leadership of global disaster relief with his deep foreign aid cuts and closure of the main U.S. foreign assistance agency, said the source and the former officials.
The U.S. Agency for International Development was officially shuttered on Tuesday. The State Department on Monday extended its “heartfelt condolences” to Afghanistan in an X post. As of Friday, however, the State Department had not approved a declaration of humanitarian need, the first step in authorizing U.S. emergency relief, said the former officials, both of whom worked at USAID, and the third source, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Such a declaration is usually issued within 24 hours of a major disaster.
The sources said State Department officials had considered recommendations for U.S. disaster aid for Afghanistan. One former senior official said the White House also has considered the issue, but decided against reversing a policy of ending aid to Afghanistan.
When asked if the U.S. would provide any emergency aid to Afghanistan following the magnitude 6 quake on Sunday, which was followed by powerful aftershocks on Thursday and Friday, a State Department spokesperson said: “We have nothing further to announce at this time.”
The United States was, until this year, the largest aid donor to Afghanistan, where it fought a 20-year war that ended with a chaotic U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul in 2021.
But in April, the Trump administration ended virtually all aid – totaling $562 million – to Afghanistan, citing a U.S. watchdog report that humanitarian groups receiving U.S. funds had paid $10.9 million in taxes, fees, and duties to the Taliban.
Asked whether the U.S. would provide emergency relief for earthquake survivors, a White House official said, “President Trump has been consistent in ensuring aid does not land in the hands of the Taliban regime, which continues to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens.”
‘STUCK IN STORAGE’
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said the Afghan earthquake was “the latest crisis to expose the cost of shrinking resources on vital humanitarian work.”
“Massive funding cuts have already brought essential health and nutrition services for millions to a halt; grounded aircraft, which are often the only lifeline to remote communities; and forced aid agencies to reduce their footprint,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
The Trump administration also has yet to respond to a request by the International Rescue Committee humanitarian organization to send $105,000 worth of U.S.-funded medical supplies following the first earthquake.
The materials include stethoscopes, first aid supplies, stretchers, and other essentials, said Kelly Razzouk, vice president of policy and advocacy for the IRC.
“The stocks are stuck in storage,” said Razzouk, who served on former U.S. President Joe Biden’s National Security Council. “In recent memory, I can’t remember a time when the U.S. did not respond to a crisis like this.”
The IRC needs Washington’s permission to send the equipment to Afghanistan because it had been funded by an unrelated U.S. grant that the Trump administration had since canceled.
“Beyond the loss of life, we have also seen basic infrastructure and livelihoods destroyed,” Stephen Rodriguez, the representative in Afghanistan for the U.N. Development Programme, told reporters on Friday.
He said donations of money, goods, and services have come from Britain, South Korea, Australia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and other countries.
“Far more is needed.”

Reporting by Jonathan Landay; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Rod Nickel

US yet to approve any help following Afghanistan earthquake, sources say
read more

Afghanistan Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 1,457 as Rescue Efforts Continue

September 5, 2025
Khaama Press

Four days after Afghanistan’s Kunar earthquake, official reports confirm 1,457 deaths and 3,394 injuries. Over 6,700 homes destroyed as international aid struggles to reach remote communities.

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province has risen to 1,457, Taliban officials confirmed on Thursday, four days after the disaster.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said at least 3,394 people were injured, while more than 6,782 homes were destroyed across Kunar and neighboring Nangarhar.

Rescue workers are still pulling bodies from beneath the rubble, with officials acknowledging that the recovery operation remains far from complete. Survivors continue to face shortages of food, water, and medical care.

Taliban authorities claim that humanitarian assistance has reached many families and that roads to remote quake-hit areas have been reopened. They also reported that specialized rescue teams from several countries have joined ongoing operations.

Despite these assurances, residents and aid workers say relief efforts remain slow and uneven. The difficult mountainous terrain and widespread damage have made it hard to reach communities most in need.

International organizations, including the Red Cross and the World Health Organization, along with aid shipments from Turkey, Iran, India, and Japan, are working to support local operations. Relief agencies warn that access challenges are delaying critical supplies and medical assistance.

The earthquake is among Afghanistan’s deadliest in recent years, exposing once again the country’s fragile infrastructure and limited disaster response capacity. With thousands displaced, immediate international aid remains vital to prevent further loss of life.

Humanitarian groups stress that long-term recovery planning is essential. Without sustained global support, affected communities risk enduring years of hardship long after the initial rescue operations have ended.

Afghanistan Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 1,457 as Rescue Efforts Continue
read more

Sharp Rise in Forced Deportations of Afghan Migrants from Pakistan

September 5, 2025
TOLOnews
TV Network
4 Sept 2025

According to them, after the expiration of the designated deadline (August 31), the Pakistani government has intensified the forced removal of Afghan migrants.

A number of Afghan migrants in Pakistan report a sharp increase in forced deportations from the country in recent days.

According to them, after the expiration of the designated deadline (August 31), the Pakistani government has intensified the forced removal of Afghan migrants.

Mir Miakhil, a representative of Afghan migrants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said: “People are extremely anxious because they have been doing business here for nearly forty years, and dismantling everything in such a short period is impossible.”

Atiqullah Mansoor, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, stated: “Not only did they not halt the deportations, but they escalated the process. We and international organizations have repeatedly appealed to the Pakistani government to carry out the deportations in a gradual and safe manner.”

Several other Afghan migrants also criticized the Pakistani government’s refusal to extend their visas. According to them, this lack of renewal has placed them in serious hardship.

Some migrant rights activists, emphasizing the need to resolve the challenges faced by refugees, are calling on Pakistan to halt the forced deportations until the situation in Afghanistan normalizes.

Mohammad Reza Sazesh, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “Afghan refugees are struggling with numerous problems. Visa renewals have been halted, and there is no possibility of extending them.”

Jamal Muslim, a migrant rights activist, said: “Pakistan must remain committed to its core obligations. Even now, thousands of Afghan refugees with legal documents are being humiliated.”

Although Pakistan has not officially announced the start of the third phase of Afghan migrant deportations, Pakistani media previously reported that Islamabad plans to begin deporting approximately 1.3 million Afghan migrants with POR (Proof of Registration) cards starting from September 1.

Sharp Rise in Forced Deportations of Afghan Migrants from Pakistan
read more

UN: Aftershocks Deepen Humanitarian Crisis in Kunar

September 5, 2025
TOLOnews
TV Network
4 Sept 2025

However, earthquake survivors in Kunar say they have lost everything and now desperately need immediate assistance, especially shelter.

As the crisis in Kunar continues, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that following the recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, assessments and relief operations are ongoing under very difficult conditions. According to the agency, aftershocks have created additional problems for residents, forcing many families to spend nights outdoors.

UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said: “ Despite these difficulties, food and shelter distribution have started, as well as the provision of health assistance, including through mobile health and nutrition teams. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that urgent priorities remain shelter, medical supplies, drinking water, food and sanitation.”

Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon four military planes carrying humanitarian aid from Qatar arrived in Kabul, led by a delegation headed by Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad, Qatar’s Minister of International Cooperation.

Al-Misnad, who was warmly welcomed by the Islamic Emirate’s Foreign Ministry, said the visit was made under the instruction of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with the aim of helping the people of Afghanistan during this crisis.

She added: “We have come here under the instruction of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to respect human dignity and to assist the people of Afghanistan in this crisis. With us is the ‘Lakhoya’ search and rescue team whose mission is to deliver medical aid, set up field hospitals, assist people in quake-hit areas, and work to save lives.”

However, earthquake survivors in Kunar say they have lost everything and now desperately need immediate assistance, especially shelter. They are calling for aid to reach affected areas as quickly as possible.

Alam Jan, a survivor, said: “We left our house, and everything we owned was destroyed. Only my clothes remained with me; I lost everything else.”

Darbar, another survivor, said: “Our sorrow is first with God, then with the people. Everything we had is gone, we have nothing left.”

Sunday night’s earthquake caused the most damage in the districts of Dara Mazar, Nurgal, and Suki in Kunar, killing nearly 2,200 people and causing massive financial losses.

Still, many people remain trapped under the rubble, and difficulties in accessing these areas have created serious obstacles for relief efforts.

UN: Aftershocks Deepen Humanitarian Crisis in Kunar
read more

Third quake strikes Afghanistan as deaths rise

September 5, 2025
Joel Guinto
BBC News
September 4, 2025

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Afghanistan’s remote south-eastern region on Thursday night, the third quake in six days, as the death toll from the first continued to rise.

The shallow quake hit at 20:56 local time (15:36 GMT) and sent people in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces scampering out of shelters in fear.

There was no immediate official report of casualties from Thursday night’s earthquake, but medics on the ground told the BBC that 17 wounded people were brought to Kunar Provincial Hospital.

Sunday’s quake has killed 1,368 people and wounded 2,180 others, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) said, citing reports from 25 villages.

A second earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday temporarily halted rescue operations, which have mostly been conducted by helicopters as debris from landslides cuts off access to remote villages.

There have also been a steady stream of aftershocks.

“Rescue and search efforts are still ongoing, tents have been set up for people in various areas, and the delivery of first aid and emergency supplies is ongoing,” Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, said on X.

The Taliban government – which is only recognised by Russia – has appealed for international help. The UN has released emergency funds, while the UK has pledged £1m ($1.3m) in aid.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

In 2023, more than 1,400 people died after a series of 6.3-magnitude earthquakes hit western Afghanistan, near the city of Herat.

The year before that, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring another 3,000.

Third quake strikes Afghanistan as deaths rise
read more

Afghanistan earthquake death toll rises to 2,200

September 4, 2025
Al Jazeera
Published On 4 Sep 2025

Rescuers have recovered hundreds of bodies from mountainous areas of southeastern Afghanistan, which was hit by a major earthquake at the weekend, taking the death toll to more than 2,200, according to a Taliban government spokesperson.

Previous estimates said some 1,400 people were killed. Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said on Thursday that the updated death toll was 2,205.

“Tents have been set up for people, and the delivery of first aid and emergency supplies is ongoing,” Fitrat said.

A third earthquake struck the region on Thursday, as search and rescue efforts were continuing. No new deaths have yet been reported after the magnitude 6.2 earthquake. Sunday’s quake was one of the deadliest in recent times due, in part, to how shallow it was, with its epicentre at a depth of about eight kilometres (five miles).

At least 3,640 people were injured in the magnitude 6 quake on Sunday and a subsequent magnitude 5.5 quake on Tuesday, the Taliban said, with the United Nations warning the death toll could rise as more people are still trapped under rubble, particularly in the worst-hit provinces of Kunar.

“What we’re seeing on the ground is utter devastation, a real catastrophe,” John Aylieff, country director for World Food Programme Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera on Thursday. “We have houses razed to the ground.”

Most of the casualties have been in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep river valleys separated by high mountains.

More than 6,700 homes have been destroyed, authorities have said. Survivors are sifting through debris in their search for loved ones. The rough terrain is hindering relief efforts.

Taliban authorities have deployed helicopters and airdropped army commandos to help survivors. Aid workers have reported walking for hours to reach villages cut off by landslides and rockfall.

Obaidullah Stoman, 26, who travelled to the village of Wadir in Kunar’s Nugral district to search for a friend, told the AFP news agency that there was “only rubble left”.

“I’m searching here, but I didn’t see him. It was very difficult for me to see the conditions here,” he said.

Akhlaq, 14, who was injured and evacuated to the hospital, lost five members of his family to the earthquake in the remote village.

“We cannot accurately predict how many bodies might still be trapped under the rubble,” said Ehsanullah Ehsan, the head of disaster management for eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar region.

The World Food Programme has only enough supplies to last for a few weeks, Aylieff warned on Thursday, saying rescue teams are experiencing difficulty reaching remote villages affected by the earthquakes.

“Even our off-the-road trucks cannot get through, so we’re using every means possible, small pick-ups, pack animals, and even in some cases, villagers are coming down and carrying food back to the communities,” he told Al Jazeera.

INTERACTIVE-AFGHANISTAN-EARTHQUAKE -September 1-2025-1756714234
[Al Jazeera]

Afghanistan has experienced devastating earthquakes in the past due to its location at the point where the Indian and Eurasian plates converge.

More than 2,000 people were killed in the western province of Herat in the country’s deadliest earthquake in October 2023. A year before, 1,000 people were killed after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the eastern provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost, and Nangarhar.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
Afghanistan earthquake death toll rises to 2,200
read more

After Afghan Quake, Many Male Rescuers Aided Men but Not Women

September 4, 2025
By Fatima Faizi

The New York Times

A prohibition on contact between unrelated women and men meant many women’s wounds went untended and some were left trapped under rubble after a deadly earthquake, witnesses said.

The first rescue workers reached Bibi Aysha’s village more than 36 hours after an earthquake devastated settlements across eastern Afghanistan’s mountainous areas on Sunday. But instead of bringing relief, the sight of them heightened her fears; not a single woman was among them.

Afghan cultural norms, enforced even in emergencies by the ruling Taliban, forbid physical contact between men and women who are not family members. In the village of Andarluckak, in Kunar Province, the emergency team hurriedly carried out wounded men and children, and treated their wounds, said Ms. Aysha, 19. But she and other women and adolescent girls, some of them bleeding, were pushed aside, she said.

“They gathered us in one corner and forgot about us,” she said. No one offered the women help, asked what they needed or even approached them.

Tahzeebullah Muhazeb, a male volunteer who traveled to Mazar Dara, also in Kunar Province, said that members of the all-male medical team there were hesitant to pull women out from under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Trapped and injured women were left under stones, waiting for women from other villages to reach the site and dig them out.

“It felt like women were invisible,” said Mr. Muhazeb, 33. He added, “The men and children were treated first, but the women were sitting apart, waiting for care.”

If no male relative was present, he said, rescue workers dragged dead women out by their clothes, so as not to make skin contact.

More than 2,200 people died and 3,600 others were injured in the magnitude 6 quake that flattened countless hamlets and villages, according to figures released by Afghanistan’s government.

The response to the quake on Sunday has epitomized the dual standards that women and girls face in Afghanistan, aid groups and humanitarian organizations say, trapped both under the rubble and the weight of gender discrimination.

“Women and girls will again bear the brunt of this disaster, so we must ensure their needs are at the heart of the response and recovery,” the special representative for U.N. Women Afghanistan, Susan Ferguson, said in a statement this week.

Though the Taliban have not released a gender breakdown of the casualties, women have faced an especially harsh ordeal, made worse by neglect and isolation, more than half a dozen doctors, rescue workers and women in areas hit by the quake said in interviews.

Afghanistan faces a critical shortage of health care workers and, in particular, of women in that field. Last year, the Taliban imposed a ban on women’s enrollment in medical education. The dearth of female doctors and rescue workers has been all too evident in the wake of the earthquake.

Women and girls in Afghanistan face some of the world’s most severe restrictions under the Taliban, who took power four years ago and have remained unflinching, even as most of the Muslim world, countless human rights organizations and bodies like the World Bank have warned against the long-lasting effects of such policies on the country’s social fabric and economy.

Girls are prohibited from going to school beyond sixth grade. Women cannot travel far without a male companion and are barred from most jobs, including in nonprofits and humanitarian organizations. Afghan women working for U.N. agencies have faced repeated harassment, culminating in threats so serious this year that the agencies instructed their female employees to temporarily work from home.

A New York Times journalist who reached the Mazar Dara area the day after the quake didn’t see any women among the medical, rescue or aid teams treating victims. In one district hospital visited, there were no female staff members.

A spokesman for the Taliban-run Ministry of Health acknowledged that there was a lack of female health workers in the quake-ravaged areas.

“But in hospitals in Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman, the largest number of female doctors and nurses are working, especially to treat earthquake victims,” Sharafat Zaman, the spokesman, said of the worst-hit provinces.

In Ms. Aysha’s village, not a single female aid worker had come as of Thursday, nearly four days after the earthquake, she said. She and her 3-year-old son had spent the past three nights out in the open, as rain that fell over the past few days prevented her from reaching a shelter or the city where her husband works.

“God saved me and my son,” Ms. Aysha said. “But after that night, I understood — being a woman here means we are always the last to be seen.”

Safiullah Padshah contributed reporting.

Fatima Faizi is a reporter in the Kabul, Afghanistan, bureau.

After Afghan Quake, Many Male Rescuers Aided Men but Not Women
read more

Fresh Tremor of Magnitude 4.7 Jolts Eastern Afghanistan

September 4, 2025
Khaama Press

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near Jalalabad, days after Kunar’s deadly tremors, deepening fears as survivors await aid amid ongoing devastation and blocked relief access.

At 9:40 a.m. local time on Thursday, September 4, another earthquake measuring 4.7 struck eastern Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter was reported near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, with the tremor occurring at a depth of 13 kilometers beneath the earth’s surface.

This comes just days after a series of deadly earthquakes devastated Kunar province, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving thousands injured and homeless.

Rescue operations in Kunar remain underway, with bodies still being recovered from rubble and aid agencies struggling to reach remote mountainous areas blocked by landslides.

The repeated tremors have heightened fears among survivors, many of whom are sheltering outdoors in makeshift camps as they await emergency relief.

So far, no official reports of casualties or damage have been released, and local authorities are still assessing the impact in surrounding districts.

International aid agencies, including the UN and Red Cross, have rushed support to affected regions, but access challenges and the scale of devastation continue to slow relief efforts.

Humanitarian groups warn that urgent assistance; food, shelter, and medical care—is critical to prevent a worsening crisis in Kunar, where the death toll and injuries remain staggering.

Fresh Tremor of Magnitude 4.7 Jolts Eastern Afghanistan
read more

How to help those impacted by the Afghanistan earthquake: Charities, organizations to support relief efforts

September 4, 2025

By Megan Forrester

ABC News
September 2, 2025
The 6.0 magnitude quake has killed over 1,400 people, officials said.
The earthquake that struck Afghanistan on Sunday has killed over 1,400 people, injured over 3,000 and destroyed several villages, according to officials.
The 6.0 magnitude quake — which was followed by a second 5.2 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday — also destroyed 8,000 houses, according to officials.

How to help after the Afghanistan earthquake

As officials begin rescue operations, charities and organizations have started to carry out support efforts. See below for a full list of ways to donate to charitable groups.

Below is more about each organization and links for more information.

Afghan Relief

An organization that is “committed to helping those in need across Afghanistan,” Afghan Relief said it has a team on the ground “working tirelessly to deliver emergency food, water, medical aid and shelter to those affected” by the quake.

Click here to learn more.

The World Food Programme is a United Nations agency that is the “world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity,” according to its website.

For those impacted by the Afghanistan quake, the agency said is is “rushing food to affected communities in eastern Afghanistan,” specifically delivering “high-energy biscuits to communities in quake-affected areas” and dispatching “mobile storage units to support broader emergency response,” the agency said in a press release on Monday.

Click here to learn more.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that “provides medical assistance to people in crisis,” said it has an emergency team at the scene of the quake that is “assessing the full scale of the medical and humanitarian needs” and “delivering vital emergency trauma care supplies” to one of the main hospitals in the area, according to its website.

The organization said it is also coordinating with local authorities and other international health organizations to “assess how we may be able to provide medical support.”

Click here to learn more.

British Red Cross

The British Red Cross, a humanitarian charity dedicated to helping people around the world in emergencies, said it has trained volunteers “assisting in search and rescue missions” and in “distributing essentials like food and drinking water to those affected,” according to its website.

Click here to learn more.

Save the Children

An organization that works in the United States and around the world to “give children a health start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm,” Save the Children said it is sending health teams to areas impacted by the earthquake to treat children and their families, according to its website.

Additionally, the group said the teams will provide “clean, safe water to displaced families” and has materials for temporary shelters along with education and hygiene kits to distribute to children. Child protection teams are also “on hand to take care of children at risk,” the organization said.

Click here to learn more.

How to help those impacted by the Afghanistan earthquake: Charities, organizations to support relief efforts
read more

Aid effort underway after Afghanistan quake ‘wipes out’ villages

September 4, 2025
September 4, 2025
The aftermath of the deadly earthquakes that hit Herat province in October 2023. The latest disaster is believed to have devastated hard-to-reach rural communities on the other side of the country.
The aftermath of the deadly earthquakes that hit Herat province in October 2023. The latest disaster is believed to have devastated hard-to-reach rural communities on the other side of the country.
© WHO/Zakarya Safari

 

By Daniel Johnson

After a magnitude six earthquake struck remote areas of eastern Afghanistan overnight reportedly killing at least 800 people and wiping out villages, UN chief António Guterres on Monday pledged to “spare no effort” in helping those affected.

“I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today,” the Secretary-General said in an online message.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. The UN team in Afghanistan is mobilized and will spare no effort to assist those in need in the affected areas.”

On the ground, several UN agencies reported devastation across four eastern provinces of Afghanistan including Nangarhar and Kunar, where staff and humanitarian partners are already supporting relief efforts.

Hundreds of houses are believed to have collapsed in remote hillside communities, where many likely crumbled on top of others located on terraces further downhill.

“When an earthquake of this magnitude happens, the homes basically tumble on top of each other,” Salam Al-Jabani from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) told UN News. “And because it was so late at night, families were at home sleeping and that’s why we see such big losses.” 

The UN Humanitarian Air Service has scheduled additional flights connecting Kabul and Jalalabad for personnel and cargo to scale up the response.

Trapped inside

Witnesses reported that the earthquake happened at around midnight local time, heightening fears that many Afghans may still be trapped under the rubble of their homes. UNICEF reported that many youngsters had been killed, as first responders said that poor phone and signal quality was impacting rescue and assessment activities.

The tremor’s epicentre is estimated to have been only around eight kilometres (six miles) underground, causing buildings to shake in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, according to reports.

Among those providing assistance are the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and many more.

“As reports of deaths and injuries from the #earthquake in eastern region of #Afghanistan continue to emerge, @WHOAfghanistan teams are on the ground in hospitals and health facilities, supporting the treatment of the wounded and assessing urgent health needs,” the UN health agency said.

“We are actively delivering essential medicines and supplies and deploying health teams to affected areas to help #SaveLives.”

How the UN helps

United Nations teams are on the ground in more than 160 countries, working with the authorities and partners on joint programmes in communities to promote climate action, food security, gender equality and safety of civilians.

The UN has been present in Afghanistan since 1949; the global body’s work there is driven by the Resident Coordinator, Indrika Ratwatte, as head of a country team which includes around 20 UN agencies and international organizations such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Also on the ground to provide assistance, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, noted that up more than 2,000 people have been likely injured in the province of Kunar alone. It is feared that the trading city of Jalalabad may have suffered a “very high death toll”, said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch.

Help, before it’s too late

The UN agency is among those rushing lifesaving support to affected areas including medical equipment, shelter, clean water, tents and blankets. It underscored how the emergency has added “death and destruction” to Afghanistan’s many other existing human challenges that include drought and the return of millions of nationals from neighbouring countries.

Mr. Baloch insisted that the scale of this disaster “far exceeds the current capacity of local authorities and communities…We are appealing to the donor community globally to support urgently required relief efforts. Afghans need our support and assistance now, before it’s too late for many others.”

Aid teams will have to overcome challenging terrain to help some of the most remote communities who can only be reached on foot, OCHA noted.

It said that the de facto authorities have deployed heavy machinery to Nurgal and Chawkay districts to remove road blockages and that some sections have reportedly been reopened. Critically injured people have been airlifted by helicopter to Jalalabad and Asadabad hospitals which are now the main referral points for victims in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.

But a number of isolated communities can only be reached by foot with travel time currently up to three hours from the point of obstruction, OCHA said, highlighting those in Dewagal Valley in Chawkay district and Mazar Valley in Nurgal district, Kunar province.

The earthquake is one of the worst to hit Afghanistan and comes less than two years since three deadly 6.3 magnitude quakes shook Herat on the other side of the country. They struck on 7, 11 and 15 October 2023, killing 1,480 people and injuring 1,950 others across 382 villages, creating widespread destruction.

Aid effort underway after Afghanistan quake ‘wipes out’ villages
read more

Recent Posts