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Read our latest stories from Afghanistan

Girls at a classroom in a settlement for returnees

10-month-old Adela in the Wardak Provincial Hospital in Afghanistan after recovering from acute watery diarrhoea.

From crisis to care

UNICEF prepares health facilities in Afghanistan to treat increasing cases of acute watery diarrhoea with medicines and oral rehydration points

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On 19 June 2023, 6-year-old Asra uses the new toilet at her home in Qarghaye District, Laghman Province, Afghanistan.

Video essay

Toilets close to home, children far from illness

UNICEF is working with communities to end open defecation, helping build or improve toilets at home, and teaching people when and how to wash their hands

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On 17 June 2023, Naghma, a 5 year old girl in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, stands in a field near her home, which has been reconstructed after the earthquake last year.

Photo essay

One year on, three brighter smiles

After Afghanistan’s earthquake in the southeast, one year on, UNICEF is helping communities rebuild with new classrooms and child-friendly spaces

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On 23rd October 2022, 4 month old Farahnaz's height is measured at the UNICEF-supported provincial hospital in Nili, Daikundi Province, central Afghanistan. 18 year old Tahira, Farahnaz's mother (on right), brought Farahnaz to the hospital to be screened for malnutrition.

Article

Four steps to deliver results for malnourished children

With 1 in 5 children under five living in urban areas of Afghanistan, UNICEF pioneers initiative to tackle malnutrition with the European Union

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On 16 March 2023, Nurse Sadia Khan* prepares a wound dressing for a patient at a hospital in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Article

A female health worker’s service despite numerous challenges

Amidst increasing restrictions on women in Afghanistan, UNICEF supports salaries for health workers like Sadia so she can continue caring for children

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On 18 March 2023, in Kabul city, Afghanistan, 15-year-old Zahra sits at home, banned like other girls her age from attending secondary school.

Article

Girls dispirited as their high schools remain closed

As the academic year began in March, girls hoped to return to class with their brothers. But for the second year in a row, secondary schools remained closed

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On 13 December 2022, 9-year-old Shaheda stands inside the UNICEF-supported child-friendly space at the Torkham border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Shaheda describes her journey smuggling goods across the border into Afghanistan to Abdul Khalid Saghar, UNICEF Child Protection Officer in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Article

Short but perilous: Children’s smuggling journey

Hiding under moving trucks, children risk their lives smuggling goods – and themselves – across the Torkham border between Afghanistan and Pakistan

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: Shuturkhan village in Chaghcharan district of Ghor province, in western Afghanistan is home to around 3000 people.

Article

Protecting and improving healthcare

With support from UNICEF, primary health centre in Shuturkhan village in Ghor, provides essential health and nutrition services to over 3,000 residents.

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On 1 February 2023, a baby boy is among 50 children being treated for acute respiratory infections at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Article

Acute respiratory infections double among children

Amidst the worst winter in years, UNICEF is providing a lifeline to the vulnerable by heating health facilities and prepositioning medicine

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Article

Nurse Nooria

UNICEF and the World Bank collaborate to improve healthcare services in Afghanistan

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Group of women in Herat at Ansari Vocational Training center, Afghanistan

Photo essay

Learning, earning, healing and giving back

How UNICEF-supported vocational training centers for women and girls are combatting mental health challenges and poverty in western Afghanistan

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Newly rehabilitated ablution blocks with hand-washing facilities for girls, boys and their teachers in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Article

How clean hands and healthy tummies lead to full attendance

Restoring the rights and dignity of students and teachers through new sanitation and water systems in Afghanistan

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Photo essay

Hamed’s journey: 11 days of uncertainty, fear and regret

One 15-year-old journey's to Iran and back, in search of a better life

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Article

Parwana, one year on

One year ago, she was so severely malnourished, I feared she wouldn’t make it. Today, Parwana skips, giggles and nags her mum to get her to school on time.

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