The Afghan women who refuse to give up
After the powerful earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan on August 31, female health workers face new obstacles but still show up every day for children and families
It’s been one month since a powerful earthquake shook eastern Afghanistan, followed by relentless aftershocks. The worst damage hit Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, where entire valleys were reduced to rubble. In Kunar’s Nurgal, Chawkay, and Khas Kunar districts, families watched their homes collapse around them. Nearly 2,000 lives were lost and more than 3,600 people were injured, over half of them women and children.
As women and children bore the brunt of the earthquake’s toll, it was also women—health workers like Basmina, Brishna, Khadija, and Adela—who stood at the frontlines of the response.
Two days after the earthquake, Basmina, a nutrition counsellor, was deployed to Ghaziabad in Nurgal district for a week. With the road blocked, she walked for over three hours at dawn, carrying her one-year-old son. She walked through the rain, injuring her feet along the way. Her child, exposed to the cold, soon fell ill.
When her team arrived at the Basic Health Centre, they saw that it was partially destroyed. Cracks ran through the walls, and the team couldn’t risk staying inside. They set up a temporary health facility using tents outdoors, but the rain returned shortly after. Her first night was difficult, even the mahrams (male guardians) accompanying the team had to sleep outside in the rain.
By morning, the team began seeing patients, but the challenges grew. There were too many injured, too few supplies and constant aftershocks. The rain didn’t let up. Later, other teams arrived and started rotating in weekly, easing the pressure. She was heartbroken to see families with no food in the first days. When food finally arrived, people were overjoyed.
Despite the personal risks and the conditions on the ground, Basmina was determined to reach the Ghaziabad Basic Health Centre and do her part as a nutrition counsellor. Her father-in-law told her this was the time to serve her people. She brought her breastfeeding child with her. The older two stayed behind.
Brishna Habibi, a midwife, was at home in Sarkano district when the earthquake struck. Fortunately, the district was not as badly hit as Nurgul and Dewagal (Chawkay), so her family and relatives remained safe.
She said she didn’t hesitate when asked to join the team at the clinic in the Khas Kunar camp—these were her people, and she knew they needed help. For her, it wasn’t just about providing services, it was about standing with families as they recovered and rebuilt.
She and her colleagues were offering care for pregnant and non-pregnant women, including antenatal and postnatal services. Children were screened for malnutrition, and routine vaccinations were provided on site. Many families, displaced by the earthquake, had no access to regular health services, and this camp became their only source of care.
One of the hardest cases she recalled was a two-month-old baby whose mother and relatives had died in the earthquake. He had been rescued from the rubble with leg injuries, treated by emergency teams and later brought to the clinic. She and the team dressed his wounds and gave him his vaccinations.
She added that many patients were struggling with depression, overwhelmed by the emotional toll of losing their homes. Medical, nutrition and other essential services were among the first to be provided by humanitarian teams after the earthquake. But as the days passed and aftershocks continued, the emotional toll began to mount. In response, UNICEF and partners extended mental health and psychosocial support to help families manage the psychological impact of the earthquake.
Khadija, also a midwife, began her emergency assignment four weeks ago, even as her own family was affected by the earthquake. Her in-laws’ home was partly destroyed, and their entire village was wiped out. Yet, they never discouraged her from taking on this assignment. They told her this suffering was not only theirs but everyone’s, and that they must serve their people.
Her own children were terrified. During the earthquake, they screamed and ran. She carried one child while her husband carried the other as they fled. Even now, the smallest aftershocks leave them shaken.
She began her emergency rotation at the Zeri Baba camp in Nurgal district, where she worked from Saturday to Thursday. The camp was newly set up, and families were still in shock. The heat was intense. There was no water, no tents, not even a tree for shade. People were desperate, for shelter, clothing and a single bite of bread. Many had lost everything in the blink of an eye.
Aftershocks continued throughout the week. Every tremor sent people into panic. Patients came with low blood pressure from the heat, and many remained in psychological shock. By the time Khadija left that camp, basic services like water, tents, food, and medical care had begun to arrive.
At 23, Adela serves as a vaccinator on this emergency response team. In her first week, she was deployed to Chawkay district in Kunar. Aftershocks were still ongoing, and the fear of another earthquake made it difficult to sleep or feel at ease. At the time of the initial earthquake, she had been in Nangarhar for a training. Fortunately, her family was safe.
In the second week, she too was assigned to the Ghaziabad Basic Health Center in Nurgal district. What she witnessed there was heartbreaking—children without clothing, families who had lost everything and men and women sheltering wherever they could.
“This is why I chose to be here,” she said. “To serve the people of my country who are impacted by the earthquake and need our help the most.”
In the Ghaziabad clinic catchment area, most children had likely received routine vaccinations, as health services were available in the area. However, many had lost their vaccination cards during the earthquake, making it difficult to confirm which vaccines they had received and when. Following their supervisor’s guidance, the team administered polio and measles vaccines to all children under the age of 10, as a precaution.
When her team left the village, residents were sad to see them go, but deeply grateful for the care they had provided. “Their gratitude motivated me to continue my work,” she said.
All four women—Basmina, Brishna, Khadija and Adela—are delivering vital support in the heart of the earthquake-affected areas, working with UNICEF’s partners to deliver life‑saving health and nutrition services to displaced families.
UNICEF is delivering these services with funding from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and EU humanitarian Aid, in Khas Kunar and nearby districts and provinces impacted by the earthquake. While the team continues to provide essential services from a temporary tent structure, preparations are underway to establish a hardwall facility that will soon serve as a fully operational clinic.
