Our thoughts go out to all those who have lost loved ones, the injured, and the emergency responders. The European Union stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.
On the night of 31 August, a powerful earthquake struck Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan. Measuring over 6 on the Richter scale, it caused massive destruction across Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. Almost 2,000 people were killed and more than 3,600 were injured. The UN estimates that at least 450,000 people were directly affected.
This earthquake also caused large scale damage to infrastructure. Roughly 6,700 homes were destroyed, along with schools, community centres, transport links, water and sanitation systems.
The risk of a wide-spread cholera outbreak is now extremely high, made worse by shortages of essential hygiene and sanitation items in a region where cholera was already spreading.
This devastation struck an area close to the Pakistani border, where thousands of vulnerable Afghans were forced to return from Pakistan over the past year. The earthquake has deepened an already dire humanitarian crisis. With winter approaching, urgent needs for food, shelter, health, and protection will only increase.
We must therefore urgently scale up humanitarian assistance to avoid further deaths, epidemics, starvation, and human suffering.
The European Union responded swiftly and effectively. Within hours, DG ECHO staff based in Afghanistan flew to the affected areas to carry out a rapid assessment and identify the most urgent needs.
We immediately mobilised 1.5 million euros in emergency funding for humanitarian partners with local presence and rapid response capacity. The Commission also organised six Humanitarian Air Bridge flights delivering 450 metric tonnes of lives-saving supplies, including medical relief, shelter, and winterisation materials.
We are also deploying a specialised Emergency Medical Team, including trauma physiotherapists to support survivors. At the same time, EU humanitarian programmes already active in these regions — including support for Afghan returnees from Pakistan — were quickly adapted to meet the most urgent needs of women, children, and displaced families.
Women and children are paying the highest price. They face heightened protection risks in displacement in a society where they have no voice and cannot move freely.
This is why our response prioritises food and livelihood assistance, medical help, the rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities, shelter and protection. All actions are designed to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable, especially women.
Our humanitarian funding is gender sensitive. It supports gender-specific needs and our programmes are tailored to the specific vulnerabilities of women and girls. In the health sector, it supports maternal and reproductive health care, which are critical for women, especially in the disaster-affected area. Pregnant and lactating women are central to our food security and nutrition interventions.
Our partners on the ground include local organisations that work closely with civil society. This ensures a better understanding of the situation in the field and of the specific needs of women in Afghanistan. Through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent (IFRC) and the direct involvement of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, we are also able to work with Afghan women beyond the health sector.
In Afghanistan, every act of solidarity counts. Every life saved, every woman supported, every child protected is a step towards hope. Europe will continue to stand by the Afghan people — with compassion, with determination, and with the conviction that even in the darkest moments, humanity must prevail.
