Children are in need of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect Vol. 123; p. 105421
• Main Authors: Neto, Modesto Leite Rolim, Lima, Nadia Nara Rolim, Machado, Sávio Samuel Feitosa, Vasconcelos, José Péricles Magalhães, de Carvalho, Sionara Melo Figueiredo, Junior, Jucier Gonçalves, de Oliveira, Cícera Rejane Tavares, dos Anjos de Paula, Juliane, Pedro, Uilna Natercia Soares Feitosa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Afghanistan; Child; Child welfare; Children; Evacuation; Humanitarian aid; Humanitarianism; Humans; Life risk; Life threatening; Malnutrition; Mental health care; Mental health services; Relief Work; Unaccompanied; Violence; Afghanistan; Afghanistan; Life risk; Children; Malnutrition; Violence
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105421

Almost 60% of Afghans forced to flee their homes in 2021 because of the Taliban advance are children. They are starving. It is estimated that approximately one million will suffer from severe, life-threatening malnutrition by the end of 2021. Many have been separated from their families by the chaos that has ensued in Afghanistan after Taliban took power, and hundreds of them were driven out of the country unaccompanied. How must these children have been when they suddenly found themselves without their relatives during the chaotic crisis, or when they boarded an evacuation flight? It is vital to identify them quickly. Too many children witnessed scenes that no child should see. Children and teenagers are dealing with anxiety and fear and desperately need help and mental health care. This is the sad reality facing Afghan children, regardless of ongoing political developments and changes in government.