Aid worker Athena Rayburn, from Save the Children, reports on the crisis in Afghanistan. Healthcare is a human right, but for millions in Afghanistan, it has become a distant dream, she writes.

Afghanistan is one of the toughest places in the world to be an older person, and the troubles last summer put them at further risk. Your support for the DEC Afghanistan Crisis Appeal has allowed Age International to reach over 4,400 families with support tailored to the needs of older people and those with disabilities,

In December last year, we launched an urgent appeal for the crisis in Afghanistan, which has raised an incredible £50 million. From the thousands of people we have supported, here are three lives we have impacted, thanks to donations from the UK public.

A review of DEC member programmes in phase 1 of the humanitarian response.

Donations to the DEC Afghanistan Crisis Appeal are a lifeline for families facing hunger and suffering across the country. Here’s how DEC charities and their local partners have helped families struggling to survive, and will continue to support them in the months ahead.

The people of Afghanistan are facing a crisis of catastrophic proportions. 22 million face acute hunger; over eight million are on the brink of famine. Lives are already being lost. With snow falling in Kabul and the cold about to set in to block off supply routes, aid workers say there is an urgency to save lives. 

Leading aid workers today sounded the alarm to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan and said there was a ‘small window of opportunity’ to respond before the freezing winter sets in. Conflict and economic collapse, coupled with the worst drought in 27 years and the Covid-19 pandemic, have brought Afghanistan to a tipping point. 

DEC charities provided a lifeline to people in Afghanistan, after drought and economic collapse left millions hungry. This appeal is now closed and all funds have been spent.