Millions of Afghan children are facing enormous challenges and need immediate help.
UPDATE 09/13/2021:
The Administration releases funds for short-term needs,
but more assistance is needed for the long-term.
Let's tell Congress to act now!
As Afghanistan faces an immediate crisis as well as the long-term challenges of COVID-19, drought, and conflict, children are continuing to lose access to food, protection, and shelter. This is an urgent humanitarian crisis, and as Christians we are called to "not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act" (Proverbs 3:27, NIV).
These combined challenges pose a serious threat to child well-being, with particular risks for women and girls. While gains have been made, that progress is now at severe risk of being lost, with women and girls in Afghanistan now facing widespread discrimination and human rights abuses:
- According to Human Rights Watch, only 37% of teenage girls can read and write.
- Up to 87 percent of Afghan women experience at least one form of physical, sexual or psychological violence.
And beyond the damage to education and future opportunities for children, there are also severe implications for access to basic needs:
- An estimated 2.7 million people are facing starvation in Afghanistan.
- Malnutrition levels are accelerating with around 2 million children needing nutrition treatment to survive.
Even before recent events, half of Afghanistan’s population – more than 18 million people – required immediate assistance due to persistent conflict, COVID-19, drought, and limited access to social services. Accelerated forced displacement is projected to result in 500,000 people fleeing across various provinces by the end of the year. The pandemic persists, and the country is not equipped with adequate preventative measures. In a country with a population of close to 40 million, so far only 139,051 COVID-19 cases and 6,098 deaths have been reported since February 2020 . Now we fear things could get much worse.
We need to raise our voices and urge the Administration and Congress, to provide basic needs and services to vulnerable, displaced Afghan families through organizations who are committed to staying in Afghanistan – like World Vision. The U.S. should provide assistance and resources to those in desperate need and pave the way for World Vision programs to do the work we are called to do: ensure fullness of life for children around the world. Let's continue to do so by contacting our government leaders and acting swiftly to support children and families in Afghanistan.