Following the escalation of fighting in Afghanistan, INTERSOS is operational to respond to the growing needs of the population
Faced with the rapid evolution of the internal situation in Afghanistan following the offensive launched by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the group also known as the Taliban), our priority is to ensure the continuity of humanitarian assistance. We are committed to responding to the serious needs of the population affected by the escalation of fighting and violence.
The most urgent needs concern the large number of people displaced by the fighting and the shortage of basic goods, including drugs and medical equipment. According to data released by the United Nations on August 13, some 80 per cent of nearly a quarter of a million Afghans forced to flee since the end of May are women and children. Nearly 400,000 were forced from their homes since the beginning of the year, joining 2.9 million Afghans already internally displaced across the country at the end of 2020.
Despite the hardships of recent weeks, INTERSOS projects in the country, concentrated in the provinces of Kandahar and Zabul, are currently operational, guaranteeing support to various health centers in the districts of Spin Boldak, Maywand, Shawalikot, Zheray, as well as to the Qalat hospital and Kharwaryan and Shajoy health centers in Zabul province. The intervention within the health facilities is supported by the activity of the mobile clinics engaged in the most remote areas. Particularly significant, in this phase, is the first emergency medical activity guaranteed by the two First Aid Trauma Points supported by INTERSOS in Kandahar.
Over forty years of war, marked by the confrontation between different sides, from the Cold War to the new millennium, and by phases of different intensity, but never by peace, have made Afghanistan one of the most fragile countries in the world. The intensification of the conflict, combined with the serious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to a further worsening of the humanitarian situation over the last year. At the beginning of 2021, the population in need of humanitarian assistance amounted to 18.4 million people, including more than 7 million children, according to data from OCHA’s Global Humanitarian Overview. Over 10 million people live in conditions of severe food insecurity.