Afghanistan in crisis
Earthquake deepening a humanitarian emergency
Early on the morning of Wednesday June 22, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck south-east Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring more than 1,500 others.
Teams from our partner, the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), are distributing blankets, tents, kitchen utensils, medicine, bottled water and food to earthquake-affected areas of Khost and Paktika provinces. The ICRC stands ready to support the ARCS in its response.
The ICRC has sent medical supplies to the hospitals in the areas affected by the earthquake (Paktika Provincial Hospital, Urgon District Hospital and Paktia Regional Hospital) to help medical teams address the immediate needs, which are likely to increase in the coming hours and days.
In addition, the ICRC is already supporting 33 further hospitals and their staff in Afghanistan, to ensure people can access medical care, free of charge. Patients have already been arriving and treated at the ICRC-supported hospital in Ghazni, with more expected over the hours and days ahead.
The quake has hit a country already in crisis. The economic and humanitarian crisis have been deepening, with levels of acute malnutrition spiralling in recent months. Over half the population now needs food aid.
With your help, we can continue to provide much-needed health and other humanitarian assistance.
Please donate today.
The ICRC has been delivering humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan since 1987. With your support, ICRC will continue to respond to humanitarian needs for as long as needed – today and for the months and years ahead. In the unlikely event that more funds are raised than can be reasonably and efficiently deployed for the crisis in Afghanistan, the remaining funds will be used to help the ICRC respond immediately to other challenging situations of conflict and violence around the world.