Children make more than half of all deaths in the aftermath of Afghanistan earthquake
Remarks by UNICEF Country Representative in Afghanistan, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, as delivered in the media briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
KABUL, 12 September 2025 – “Afghanistan is once again reeling from tragedy and children are at the sharp end of an aggravating crisis. We must respond not only with urgency, but with a commitment to immediately reverse it.
“They are bearing the heaviest burden after a powerful earthquake struck Kunar and Nangarhar provinces on 31 August, in the Eastern part of the country, followed by multiple severe aftershocks.
“The impact so far is devastating. At least 1,172 children have died, making more than half of the entire death toll. In addition, 45 children have been separated from their families, and 271 are newly orphaned.
“Earlier this week I joined an UNICEF response mission to the impacted areas, and the devastation is staggering.
“So far, the crisis has claimed more than 2,164 lives, over 3,428 people have been injured, and at least 6,700 homes have either been destroyed or badly damaged. Behind these numbers are children left standing alone in the rubble and families torn apart in the blink of an eye.
“As always in such disasters, children are bearing the heaviest burden. Overall, more than half a million people have been impacted—among them, 263,000 are children who now face heightened risks.
“For them, this disaster comes on top of years of conflict, economic hardship and recurrent emergencies that have already robbed so many of their childhoods. Many of them were forced to grow far too quickly.
“In a heavily destroyed village called Machkandol in Nangahar Province, I met amid rubble, stones and broken straws, three sisters and a boy.
“The boy had his fingers broken from his rescue and the girls were completely disorientated and unaware of what had happened. They lost their family, their house and even the family’s life stock had died. It was truly heartbreaking.
“As I moved on to a field trauma hospital for the injured in Khas Kunar in Kunar Province, I met a five-year-old girl carrying her two-year-old sister, who had stitches all over her head. Both were praying that their hospitalized mother with severe fractures would survive.
“Across the hardest-hit areas in Kunar and Nangarhar, children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Many are now without shelter, grieving loved ones, and struggling to cope with trauma.
“In these remote mountain communities, children face multiple threats, including untreated injuries, unsafe water and sanitation, worsening malnutrition, interrupted schooling, and profound emotional distress.
“The affected districts are extremely difficult to access, with steep terrain, limited road access, and fragile infrastructure making every mission a real challenge for humanitarian workers. But we are staying and delivering, against all odds.
“Going from Jalalabad to the remote village of Machkandol, in Nangahar, took us three and a half hours, of which only 40 minutes were on paved roads. The rest was a rough mountain dirt road, often jammed with oncoming trucks and fallen rocks. Colleagues who went to the worst affected part in Kunar told me yesterday that the roads are even worse.
“UNICEF is literally going the extra mile and doing whatever it takes to reach these children and families with the support they need.
“Social norms further complicate the delivery of aid. That is why UNICEF and partners are prioritizing the deployment of female humanitarian workers to ensure that women and girls can access support safely and equitably.
“Girls in particular face unique risks. When homes are destroyed, girls are often the first to drop out of school, in a country where their right to education faces enormous barriers. When families lose livelihoods, girls are at greater risk of child marriage. And when health services are out of reach, adolescent girls are left without essential care.
“Unless we act now, this crisis will deepen existing inequalities and place disproportionate burdens on them.
“However dire the circumstances are, the hope still lies in our collective effort. I saw firsthand during my mission how, from the very first day, UNICEF teams have been on the ground alongside national authorities, local organizations, and humanitarian partners working to save lives and protect children. Regardless of how difficult it remains to reach them.
“UNICEF has been providing emergency health care through strengthened clinics, and with our mobile health and nutrition teams delivering trauma care. We are also offering maternal and newborn services and essential medicines. In addition, we are working with polio frontline workers to support the response on the ground.
“We are screening and treating children for acute malnutrition, as cases are rising sharply across earthquake-affected provinces due to displacement and limited access to food.
“We continue to rehabilitate sustainable water systems, install emergency water points and build toilets to ensure families have clean water and keep protected from outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea.
“Children’s mental health becomes very fragile in the aftermath of such tragedies, so we have been establishing child-friendly spaces and deploying female counsellors in health clinics to provide psychosocial support to girls and women.
“We are working on social protection, delivering emergency cash assistance to vulnerable households so families can meet urgent needs and prepare for winter, which is very harsh. We hope to reach more than 15,000 households with this support.
“This response is taking place under extraordinarily grim conditions.
“And the challenges remain immense. With winter approaching, the clock is ticking. Without urgent action, many children will face freezing conditions without shelter, food, or medical care.
“To meet these needs, UNICEF has launched a US$22 million appeal to reach 400,000 people—including more than 212,000 children—over the next six months. With sufficient support, and through close coordination with national and local partners, we can save lives, protect children, and help families begin to recover with dignity.
“We urge donors and the international community to stand with Afghanistan’s children at this critical moment. They must not face this crisis alone; and I know they won’t, not while we have the means to act.”
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