Report: Harsh winter imperils Afghan kids
KABUL, Afghanistan – More than 300,000 children in war-ravaged Afghanistan face freezing winter conditions that can lead to illness and death without proper winter clothing and heating, a humanitarian organization said Thursday.
The ongoing military conflict in Afghanistan has destroyed many homes and forced thousands of children to shelter in camps for the homeless. There they are at risk of not only hunger and disease, including COVID-19, but also death from freezing temperatures.
Chris Nyamandi, Afghanistan country director for Save the Children, said in a statement Thursday that early snow in northern Afghanistan has affected children particularly badly.
“The most vulnerable children are those whose schools have shut because of the worsening winter conditions,” he said. “Their families don’t have the money to buy winter clothing. Instead children are forced to huddle at home to escape the bitter cold.”
Schools are closed until March in the coldest parts of Afghanistan, where the temperature can plummet to as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit).
Save the Children has provided winter kits to more than 100,000 families in 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The kits include fuel and a heater, blankets and winter clothes for children including coats, socks, shoes and hats.
“The situation is bleak for children forced to live in camps in places like Balkh province. It is already very cold in this northern province with overnight temperatures as low as minus 10. But it will get much colder before March,” Nyamandi said. “For thousands of children, the Afghan winter is a time of grim survival.”
A report from Save the Children released Thursday cites 12-year-old Rohina, who lives in a camp for people forced to flee their homes in northern Balkh province.
She attends Save the Children supported, community-based education classes.
“We are poor and are living under open sky,” she said. “Me and my siblings are not able to sleep for the night because of the cold. How can someone learn like this?”