In December 2021, Christian Aid took part in an urgent appeal launched by the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) for Afghanistan, where 8 million people were at the brink of famine. Drought, conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic made the crisis worse.
At the time of launching, the freezing winter was also setting in, and the people of Afghanistan were in desperate need of emergency food, hygiene kits and shelter.
One of those who needed help was Amina. Amina and her family moved from Kabul province to Herat in the hope of finding work. Instead, the employment situation got worse. On top of that, her husband was severely wounded in a car bomb explosion, which resulted in him losing his hearing. This has meant Amina is the sole breadwinner. She washes clothes to earn money, but this is not the most reliable source of income as some days she finds it hard to get work. This means she struggles to pay for food. At the time of meeting her, she tells us her family would have two meals a day, and her children hadn’t eaten fruit for months.
As well as her husband’s difficulties since the car bomb explosion, the lack of income also makes it difficult to ensure many other family medical needs are met. Amina explains “I had to pay for a blood transfusion for my little daughter three times. There is a problem with her blood and she has to have a transfusion once a year.”
Thanks to the generous response from the appeal, through a local partner we were able to distribute food, nutrition parcels and hygiene kits to families in Afghanistan. The most vulnerable people were identified and supported first, including women and children, internally displaced people, returnees and host communities.
Amina's family was one of those identified as being among the most vulnerable and received a food parcel containing wheat, flour, rice, vegetable oil, pulses, salt and sugar. Amina says “Thank God for this food that we received today. I do not have to worry about my children eating for a short time at least.”