Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children's Country Director in Afghanistan, shares his thoughts on the current situation for children in Afghanistan and Save the Children's work on the ground since 1976. He makes clear how important it is that we continue to work for the future for children in Afghanistan.

Temporary shelters where internally displaced Afghan families have fled to after being forced to leave their homes due to the armed conflict.

As harrowing footage emerges of children being passed over airport walls by parents in a desperate attempt to flee, many are asking me the same question: What does the future look like for the children who remain in Afghanistan?

It’s a question that has been at the forefront of our minds since Save the Children started working in Afghanistan in 1976 – and one to which the answer now looks painfully uncertain. Last year we reached over 1.6 million Afghans, but now all our operations have been suspended. 

Like other NGOs, we are committed to staying and delivering our life-saving work and will resume our activities soon as it is safe to do so.

Chris Nyamandi Country Director of Save the Children Afghanistan

We have no intention of abandoning the local staff, children, families and communities we have worked with for over four decades. So, our message to the UN, governments and other humanitarian agencies is clear: now is not the time to shirk your obligations to the Afghan people.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Since the end of May alone, the number of people internally displaced by conflict and in need of aid has more than doubled, more than half a million Afghans have been displaced within Afghanistan – over 330,000 of them are children. These families are living outside in the open under tarpaulins, with no access to food or medical care. While many desperately try and get to the airport, shots can be heard overhead.

330000

children are on the move at least inside Afghanistan

With food prices rising and the banking system on the verge of collapse, the situation is fast becoming even more dire. We spoke to families who survive on nothing but bread and energy drinks – the only food they can afford.

Ordinary Afghan people did not cause this crisis. We support children and their families, to ensure their protection, their rights – and their survival.

People IN NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

But for aid efforts to continue in Afghanistan, funding needs to be provided urgently and humanitarian access for actors like Save the Children needs to be supported by both the global community and by the current authorities on the ground. Safe passage to deliver lifesaving services in Afghanistan must be ensured for our brave female and male front line workers who, even amidst the chaos, tell us they want to go back to serving their communities, as doctors, nurses and teachers, among many other vital roles.

Even before the recent escalation, almost half of the population – including nearly 10 million children – were in need of humanitarian assistance. Our staff have witnessed children succumbing to malnutrition, seen the devastation wreaked on communities by the drought, the impact on young girls when they have been subject to early marriage and then violation of children’s rights, when they are forced into work.

At the same time, we witness the extraordinary positive impact that education has on children, the difference it can make to give a child’s mental health when they are given a safe space to play– how those interventions bolster their knowledge and their self-confidence.

At the same time, we witness the extraordinary positive impact that education has on children.

Now is the time to act. Together we can give Afghan children the future they deserve.

Chris Nyamandi Country Director of Save the Children in Afghanistan