UNICEF Creates Educational Spaces for 60,000 Displaced Children in Afghanistan
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced the establishment of temporary educational spaces and local learning programs for approximately 60,000 children affected by displacement and return to their country. The agency stated on its official X (formerly Twitter) page on Tuesday, June 16, that these centers were launched in April. According to UNICEF, 60% of the children covered by these programs are girls.
UNICEF also reported that in April, it provided health, nutrition, drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, psychosocial support, and vaccination services to nearly 167,000 internally displaced persons and returnees in various provinces across the country. These services are being delivered amid a wave of returns and internal displacements that has increased needs in many areas.
The organization added that to strengthen maternal and child health services, five emergency oxygen generators have been installed in district and provincial hospitals. The shortage of medical equipment and standard treatment facilities remains a major challenge for the country’s health system; some of these problems have been exacerbated by structural limitations and reduced international support following the Taliban’s takeover.
According to UNICEF’s April report, around 22 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, more than 11 million of whom are children. The ongoing situation indicates that the humanitarian crisis in the country remains extensive, with a greater need than ever for sustainable support and unobstructed access to essential services.
