Access to education for children in conflict zones

Dear Donor,

on August 15th, it was exactly four years ago that the Taliban captured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, within a few hours. Since then, the situation of Afghans has been met with silence. What became of Afghanistan and all those who stayed behind?

Afghanistan under the Taliban

The reality of life for many people in Afghanistan has deteriorated significantly. The economy has collapsed, as have the education and health care systems. Over 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, and many families are now more dependent than ever on humanitarian aid. At the same time, mass deportations from Iran and Pakistan are exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the country. Added to this are crop failures as a result of the climate crisis, caused by droughts and floods. This is a disaster for many farmers who are already living on the breadline.

The international situation

Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are currently making massive cuts to development cooperation funding, while funding from the US has been completely cut off. These changes are being felt in Afghanistan: numerous projects have been canceled immediately, many of them in the health sector and for women and children. There are once again more deaths of children from measles or polio outbreaks that could have been prevented. This is because clinics are being closed, vaccination campaigns are being discontinued, and parents can no longer afford transportation to the clinics. All of this will be exacerbated by the increasing cuts, not to mention the area of food security.

Education situation and our work on the ground

The human rights situation for women and girls in Afghanistan deteriorated significantly - despite initial promises to respect their rights. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are forbidden to attend secondary schools. Without education, young women have hardly any chance to pursue a qualified job, especially since they are excluded from most professions in the meantime anyway. As a result, the risk of forced and child marriage, child labor, violence and abuse continues to increase dramatically.

That is why we continue to do everything in our power to give children, and especially girls, the chance of a self-determined future through our education projects - for a world in which every child can read and write.

What you can do

• Inform yourself and others about the situation in Afghanistan: Listen to Afghans who, against all odds, continue to speak out, protest in the country, or show solidarity from abroad.
• Demand political support: Go protest and sign petitions.
• Continue to support our work: Thank you so much for your support! This is how we can continue to successfully implement our work in Afghanistan.

We wish you only the best and hope that together we can remain loud and strong for the people of Afghanistan!

Kind regards,
Viktoria

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