Thousands of children in Afghanistan are affected by flash floods, UNICEF says

ISLAMABAD– Tens of thousands of children in Afghanistan remain affected by continuing flash floods, especially in the north and west, the UN children’s agency said on Monday.

Unusually heavy seasonal rains have been wreaking havoc in multiple parts of the country, killing hundreds of people and destroying property and crops. The UN food agency has warned that many survivors are unable to earn a living.

UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said the extreme weather has all the hallmarks of an intensifying climate crisis, with some of the affected areas suffering from drought last year.

The World Food Program said that exceptionally heavy rain in afghanistan murdered more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of homes in May, mainly in the northern province of Baghlan. The survivors have been left homeless, landless and without a source of livelihood, the WFP said.

UNICEF said in a statement on Monday that tens of thousands of children remain affected by the continuing flooding.

“The international community must redouble efforts and investments to help communities alleviate and adapt to the impact of climate change on children,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.

At the same time, “UNICEF and the humanitarian community must prepare for a new reality of climate-related disasters,” said Oyewale.

Afghanistan ranks 15th out of 163 nations in the Children’s climate risk index. This means that not only are climate and environmental crises and stresses prominent in the country, but children are particularly vulnerable to their effects compared to other parts of the world.

Last week, the private group Save the Children said about 6.5 million children Afghanistan is forecast to experience critical levels of hunger in 2024.

Nearly three in 10 Afghan children will face crisis or emergency levels of hunger this year, as the country feels the immediate impact of flooding, the long-term effects of drought and the return of Afghans from neighboring Pakistan and Iran. , the group said in a report.

More than 557,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, after Pakistan began crack down on foreigners alleges that they are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans.