James Nachtwey, a celebrated war photographer, went to Afghanistan in 2009 for the ICRC. He witnessed the hardships of some of the country's most vulnerable people. This collection of his work gives a glimpse of the human cost of war through his eyes.

Najmuddin suffered a personal tragedy more than 20 years ago when both his legs had to be amputated above the knee because of a landmine explosion. Today, he is a director of the ICRC's Orthopaedic Centre in Kabul where he meets and treats the victims of mines and improvised explosive devices every day.

When the sadness of life that is so often manifest on Kabul’s dusty streets becomes overwhelming, there is no better place to go than the ICRC Orthopaedic Centre in Ali Abad on the city's outskirts, as ICRC communication coordinator Jessica Barry found out.

Dad-e-Khuda, Zalmai and Jamaluddin are all blind and live in the Afghan Red Crescent Society’s Marastoon in Kabul. Here they find the support they need to cope with life, and have the opportunity to learn new skills that give hope for a better future.

There are very few places in Afghanistan where the mentally sick can find care. ICRC communication coordinator, Jessica Barry, together with a colleague, visited one of them.