KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When 15-year-old Salma* said goodbye to her mother and siblings to spend the weekend at her grandmother’s house, she had no idea it would be the last time she would see them alive.
Close to midnight the following day, August 31, a magnitude 6+ earthquake shook the eastern region of Afghanistan, affecting four provinces including Kunar, which suffered the most destruction. Many of those affected live in remote and mountainous areas, the main access routes to which quickly became blocked by rocks and landslides.
“Our house had collapsed with my parents and siblings underneath”
Salma’s grandmother’s house is in a nearby village and withstood the earthquake, but she was anxious for the rest of her family. “When I returned in the morning, I saw our house had collapsed with my parents and siblings underneath,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
Although neighbours were able to pull her father and one of her brothers out alive, the rest of her family didn’t survive. “The rescuers also pulled the bodies of my mother and three siblings from the rubble, but it was too late.”
Several strong aftershocks have since hit affected areas of the Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces, with preliminary reports indicating that at least 2,200 people have died overall and a further 3,600 are injured, more than half of them women and girls.
Crises and mental health needs
With more than 6,700 homes destroyed or damaged, most families are sheltering in the open in unsafe, makeshift conditions, without privacy or access to healthcare and exposed to the rain and cold temperatures.
Maska is a psychosocial counsellor with a UNFPA-supported mobile health team deployed to the earthquake-hit areas. “Women and children in particular are extremely traumatized,” she explained. “Our goal is to support their emotional and mental health and provide whatever assistance we can, including medicines and dignity kits.”
UNFPA and partners have deployed five mobile health teams to provide essential maternal and reproductive healthcare, psychosocial support, and general medical services to those in even the most inaccessible areas. Made up of 16 female midwives and psychosocial counsellors as well as 13 male health workers, the teams have so far reached 9,500 people with life-saving services.
“At this critical moment, the affected people need our help,” said Maska.
Salma found solace with the mobile health team, visiting them three times so far for support. “I feel better when I talk to the female counsellor,” she said.
Women and girls at the heart of UNFPA response
Among more than 500,000 people estimated to have been affected by the disaster, UNFPA estimates there are some 11,600 pregnant women without access to any sanitary or health facilities. Pregnancy already comes at a high risk in Afghanistan, which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the Asia-Pacific region.
“For pregnant women, a natural disaster can turn an already challenging time into a life-threatening crisis”
UNFPA has dispatched reproductive health supplies to support thousands of safe births in health centres and hospitals, and distributed essential hygiene items such as menstrual health supplies, soap and disinfectant to women and girls in need.
“The health and safety of women and girls is our top priority in this emergency,” said UNFPA Representative in Afghanistan, Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah. “For pregnant women, a natural disaster can turn an already challenging time into a life-threatening crisis. We are on the ground, delivering essential care to ensure safe deliveries and prevent further loss of life.”
UNFPA is currently supporting 20 family health centres and psychosocial support facilities in the affected areas, all of which continue to operate. Afghanistan has suffered severe funding cuts since the start of the year, and the health system has not been spared: More than 550 of the 980 UNFPA-supported health facilities are due to close in 2025 and 1,300 – almost one third – of female health workers will lose their jobs as the resources to support them run out.
*Name changed for privacy and protection
