Participant Hassan and his little sister stand outside their home in Afghanistan.
Where we work

Afghanistan

In light of the recent crisis, War Child is scaling up its life-saving work to protect, educate and provide for more children and families in Afghanistan than ever before.

Afghanistan is now facing the worst humanitarian crisis it's ever witnessed. 

Years of conflict, severe drought and the impacts of COVID-19 have left 24.4 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Over half of these are children. 

Increasing violence, and particularly the fall of the previous Government in August 2021, has led to nearly 700,000 people fleeing their homes in search of safety. Desperate families with nowhere to go are building makeshift shelters, with little access to even the most basic supplies. The demand for life-saving essentials is vastly exceeding what is available. All the while more than 3.5 million people remain internally displaced, many with no prospect of returning home. 

War Child is committed to staying and delivering in Afghanistan. We are independently assessing need, and impartially delivering life-saving assistance to those who need us most, when they need us most.

Scale of the challenge

  • 13 M

    Children in need of humanitarian assistance.

  • 3.7 M

    Children currently out of school.

  • 3.2 M

    Children at risk of acute severe malnutrition.

Our work in Afghanistan

War Child has been in Afghanistan since 2002. We started our work in the city of Herat, in the Western region, implementing food security and livelihoods projects with internally displaced families. In 2007, we expanded to the eastern and central regions to cover three key areas: protection, education, and livelihoods - as well as broader issues like advocacy and gender discrimination. Currently, all of War Child’s programmes are in the western provinces of Herat, Badghis and Ghor.

 

In 2022, War Child’s programmes include:

  • Rolling out a large-scale emergency response plan to provide life-saving child protection, education, and livelihoods support to the most vulnerable.
  • Running mobile child-friendly spaces and providing mental health support to children impacted by war. 
  • Operating child helplines which serve as a lifeline in times of crisis. 
  • Reintegrating lost children who have been stranded at the border with Iran after leaving in search in of work. Once identified at the border by War Child and partners, these children receive medical and mental health care in a safe space, and are reunited with their families across the country. 
  • Providing families with cash relief to support incomes and ensure vulnerable children are able to attend school.

 

Participant Ahmad outside the War Child centre in Herat, Afghanistan.
At just 15 years old, Ahmad had no choice but to embark on the long and treacherous journey from Afghanistan to Iran in search of work to support his family. Credit: War Child UK.
I went to Iran because I had no choice. There was no work here, and our family had nothing to eat. I worked non-stop from eight in the morning until the evening. I missed my mother and father, and I wanted to be with them instead. When I arrived at the War Child centre, they showed me my room and gave me a blanket and something to eat and drink. My room was warm at night.
Ahmad, Afghanistan.

We never give up on children like Ahmad.

War Child's work to protect, educate and provide for children like Ahmad and their families in Afghanistan is more urgent than ever.

Please donate today and help us to be there for those that need us most when they need us most.

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