Afghanistan’s victims of earthquake receive UNICEF relief supplies

More than 80 tonnes of UNICEF medical supplies arrived in Kabul yesterday, including medicines, medical equipment, as well as midwifery and surgical kits, for children, pregnant women, and families following several devastating earthquakes in Herat, western Afghanistan.

Funded by the Asian Development Bank, the earthquake relief supplies for children and their families are part of UNICEF’s emergency response and will help around 43,000 families suffering after the disasters. Airlifted to Afghanistan from UNICEF’s warehouse in Copenhagen, the supplies also include medical treatment for children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea.

“UNICEF teams on the ground are delivering crucial aid to children and families at this critical moment. However, with winter looming, we are in dire need of support, as children in the worst affected areas teeter on the edge of collapse. We urgently appeal for additional funding to aid 96,000 children affected by the recent earthquakes in western Afghanistan,” said Fran Equiza, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.

In addition to these supplies being shipped into the country, UNICEF, to date, provided more than 17,800 people with essential water and sanitation supplies and more than 9,100 people were provided with safe water through water trucking, UNICEF statement added.

Nearly 10,400 people received winter clothing and family kits containing essential household supplies. Health services were also provided to more than 10,100 people through nine UNICEF-supported mobile health teams and temporary health centres in tents to treat the injured and to tend to their ongoing medical needs. Furthermore, 1,193 households were provided with cash assistance.