KABUL (SW) – More than 15 million children in Afghanistan and South Asian countries need urgent humanitarian aid, said officials at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
In an interview with Salam Watandar, Sam Mort, head of UNICEF’s communications, support and civil partnership department, said that Afghan children are at the forefront of humanitarian needs.
“Afghanistan’s needs for humanitarian aid are increasing, and unfortunately, Afghan children are at the forefront of these needs”, she said, adding that UNICEF was deeply concerned that more than 15 million children [in Afghanistan and South Asian countries] are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
According to Sam Mort, these needs include food, health care, vaccines and the need for drinking water.
Referring to the cold weather, she said that children need warmth at home, especially in winter when the temperature drops sharply.
“They need to go to school, not only to learn and build their future but they should be able to play with their friends and have access to health care, including mental health.”
Since 1954, the “International Children’s Day” is marked to improve the condition of children worldwide and to inform others to take better care of them.
The United Nations Children’s Fund expressed hope that it will work more together with the government of the Islamic Emirate to improve the lives of girls and boys in Afghanistan.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the previous government, there were 3,700,000 children working as labourer in Afghanistan, of which 2,100,000 were engaged in hard work.
However, Yunus Sediq, the head of communication and public relations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the current government, told Salam Watandar that they support 7 to 10 thousand needy children. “From 7 to 10 thousand children who are without guardians or children who are in serious danger, have been supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and are staying in the support centers of this Ministry.”
Although Afghanistan has signed the Convention on Children’s Rights, children here are facing difficult conditions and most of them do not have food security, and a large number of them are deprived of health and education.
ENDS
