Afghanistan is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a child. Conflict, drought and disease, and an unprecedented rise in humanitarian needs are making life for children even harder.
Afghanistan's children face an uncertain future in a constantly changing and volatile situation. At least 15.2 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance as families suffer extreme poverty in Afghanistan with limited access to healthcare, food and safe, clean water.
Girls are in the midst of a systematic crisis as women’s rights in Afghanistan are not being recognised. Their exclusion from secondary education and the workforce – and the imposition of rules governing their daily lives – has significantly increased their protection risks, devastated their rights to an education, and restricted their access to healthcare. The impacts will be felt for generations to come.
UNICEF has stood by the women and children of Afghanistan for more than 70 years throughout multiple crises, and as a humanitarian organisation, we will stay and deliver. We will engage, advocate and look for every opportunity to reach women and children who need us.
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.
Education is every child's right
In March 2023, 18-year-old Arezo (name changed to protect her identity) should be studying in the 11th grade, but due to the ban on secondary education for girls, Arezo has not been in the classroom since August 2021. She explains;
“We do not have internet access at home, so online learning and self-study is difficult. From morning to evening, I just do household chores. The only things I have are the books and chapters from previous years of school, which I review and repeat sometimes at home.
"Recently I began to feel a deep voice in my heart. It wants to scream out – so loud – and I feel like something inside of me needs to get out."
I was getting so depressed I had to see a doctor. He told me I should try to get some exercise, that I should try and go for walks early in the morning. But I am afraid to go out; now all the girls stay at home. So, I cannot do anything. I haven’t been able to go out in public for over a year.
It has been 530 days that I have not been able to be in school. I’ve been counting. If schools do not open, I will have to keep counting, and this depression will keep going. I want to pursue my career dream to become a dentist. Medicine itself is intriguing because if you look around, so many doctors are needed, and there is a lot lacking.”
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.
Malnutrition threatens Afghanistan’s children
On 7 March 2023, a young boy received UNICEF-supplied ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) at a nutrition day care centre in Kabul that supports children to recover from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
With UNICEF’s support, in February 2023 alone, over 47,000 children aged 6-59 months received life-saving treatment for severe acute malnutrition following a screening of more than 1.2 million children.
$129
provides 252 sachets of therapeutic food to help two children recover from severe acute malnutrition.
875,000
children under five years old will be in need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition in 2023.
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.
How will my donation help children?
Even in the face of the escalating crisis, UNICEF's work for children and families across every region of the country continues. Thanks to support from generous people like you, our teams are on the ground:
- Providing medical care to displaced families.
- Delivering emergency water and sanitation facilities.
- Vaccinating babies against polio and other preventable diseases.
- Treating children for severe acute malnutrition.
- Giving cash assistance to families struggling to buy food and clothing for their children.
- 82¢last year, 82 cents of every dollar donated went to our emergency response work in the field and helped us to be there for children before, during and after emergencies around the world.
- 18¢last year, 18 cents in every dollar were invested in raising public awareness; fundraising to grow our impact for children and in essential accountability and administration work.
How do we use each dollar donated?
If you choose to donate monthly, or in the unlikely event that UNICEF receives more funds than needed for this emergency response, your gift will help support UNICEF's work for children in need around the world.
Looking for other ways to support children in Afghanistan?
Help Children in Afghanistan
UNICEF will remain on the ground in Afghanistan supporting vulnerable children and their families. We can't do this without you.