The devastating earthquake that struck Afghanistan late Sunday has left more than a thousand people dead, many more injured and countless missing beneath the rubble.
This tragedy hit communities that have already endured severe hardship due to the past decades of armed conflict. The affected region is remote, with limited medical infrastructure and basic services. Eastern Afghanistan has borne additional strain from hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees from Pakistan, and still communities mobilized in the dark hours of the night to rescue those struck by the quake.
What is needed now is a swift response to evacuate the wounded and provide basic life-saving help including medicine, emergency health care, water and food. Our ICRC teams, based in Nangahar, are working closely with the Afghan Red Crescent, whose first-responders swiftly reacted to the unfolding disaster, and with our partners from the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. We are also coordinating with local authorities to deliver essential supplies to hospitals in the affected area.
Time is of the essence to reach those in need, particularly vulnerable populations such as women, children and people with disabilities.
About the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
For more information, please contact:
Achilles DESPRES, ICRC Geneva, adespres@icrc.org tel: +41 79 848 49 08
