Support Victims of Earthquake in Afghanistan

On morning of June 22, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck Afghanistan’s Paktika and Khost provinces.  This disaster was recorded at a depth of about 6 miles and was felt in neighboring countries Pakistan and India.

Gayan district in Paktika province was amongst the most affected areas.  With a total of  1,000 deaths reported by the MoPH, the United Nations has estimated that at least 770 people have been killed and more than 1,400 others have been injured.

Around 60% of homes (which were mainly from mad and clay) were damaged. The number of casualties was expected to rise as search-and-rescue operations continued in the rural and farm most locations.

In such situation the priority needs includes trauma care, emergency shelter, non-food items (NFIs), food assistance, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support. The WHO warned that possibility of Cholera outbreaks could be a concern. The earthquake will only compound an already complex and increasingly severe humanitarian crisis.

Through a partnership with a local organization, AfD was able to reach out to the affected communities and do an assessment of the situation. AfD mobilized its staff and resources working through its partner – on the ground agency.

AfD organized a mobile health team to provide services in two villages of Gayan province. Our team provided services to nearly 180 patients distributing essential medicine as a respond to their health problems. Majority of treated patients were children under the age of five years. As the season of cold and winter was approaching many showed respiratory diseases, which included pneumonia, bronchiotis upper respiratory tract infection and common cold.

AfD also distributed 100 double sized duvets to the communities to enable them to cope with the upcoming winter cold. To support WASH and hygiene AfD team provided promotional leaflets and awareness raising.

The aftermath of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the eastern region of Afghanistan, Paktika in the Khost region is escalating at an alarming rate, leaving an estimated 362,000 people in Afghanistan in need of immediate assistance (Emergency Health Cluster).

AfD remains in coordination with the Emergency Health Cluster about the service provision in order to avoid duplication of efforts, mapping the needs and delivery of the services. Additionally AfD is partnering with a local organization based in the province, Tesamuh, to deliver services to the victims. The needs assessment has been conducted and the first truck with food supply and essential medicines kits will be reaching the victims on Wednesday, June 29th.

While many victims have already been treated, and emergency relief efforts continue in full force, there are still remote areas with villages that have not yet been reached. Afghanistan is unique to other countries in that due to the ongoing conflict the country lacks standard infrastructures and national services for citizens such as trained natural disaster response teams, air units, and relief funds that would normally be available for supporting civilians. 

Co-founder and program coordinator of Action for Development, Zuhra Dadgar-Shafiq, has been attending the emergency coordination meetings in response to the earthquake and ongoing efforts to secure the region and crisis. The health care facilities and mobile health clinics are assigned and are active through the Sehatmandi program. The clinics are currently short on food and washing supplies, clean drinking water, shelter and RUTF biscottes for malnourished children.

The need for clean drinking water is high as the heat hits over 35 degrees celsius today and is expected to reach 39 degrees by the end of the week. Only days after the earthquake occurred cholera cases in the country began to rise, and it was reported that within the last 3 days over 120 children below the age of 5 were reported to suffer from severe diarrheal problems at one of the mobile health clinics, with 10 children dying from the condition. 

Adequate shelter is also a major concern for the victims as so many homes were destroyed, with many families sleeping outside out of fear of the danger of more earthquakes. This lack of stability in their basic needs may exacerbate mental health crises to already vulnerable individuals experiencing trauma and shock, as well as pose real threats to the victims to their physical safety and health. 

Humanitarian assistance and relief efforts continue 24/7 on the ground in Afghanistan and around the world to support the victims of Afghanistan. Your donation makes a huge impact and plays a major role in the success of supporting victims of natural disaster in conflict and fragile regions.