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Afghanistan

Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan: Overview, 2025 Earthquake, Red Cross Efforts, and Ways to Support

 

Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

People in Afghanistan continue to deal with the severe effects of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and more than 40 years of conflict. Impacts have been worsened by recent natural disasters, including the August 2025 earthquake, and large-scale displacement. Almost half the population is in need of humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries. Widespread poverty and the breakdown of the country’s infrastructure have left people without access to even the most basic supplies and services. Families are in dire need of basic assistance such as food, clean water, sanitation, and health care. Education, health care and human rights have been steadily deteriorating.

Afghanistan also continues to see a huge surge of Afghan nationals returning from both Iran and Pakistan. The scale and speed of returns, coupled with acute humanitarian needs amongst those returning and communities in places of return, further exacerbates Afghanistan’s resource limitations and strained economy. Women and girls are particularly exposed to multiple vulnerabilities and risks due to the bans on education rights and limited employment opportunities.

The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement plays a vital role in supporting people in Afghanistan. The Afghan Red Crescent Society continues to work tirelessly to deliver essential humanitarian services to many of the hardest to reach areas in the country. Their large local network makes it possible for them to reach people across all provinces, providing life-saving aid to men, women and children.


2025 Afghanistan Earthquake

On August 31, 2025, a powerful, 6.0-magnitude, earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan, causing widespread destruction across Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces. Many people were injured and killed, families were displaced, and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society deployed emergency teams to support people who were impacted, delivering immediate relief items.


How the Canadian Red Cross is helping

The Canadian Red Cross has supported the work of Afghan Red Crescent Society for over a decade and continues to work closely with Movement partners on how to best support people in Afghanistan.

We are currently supporting Afghan Red Crescent Society response to the ongoing population movement, through financial support to the IFRC response. With the support of the Government of Canada, the Canadian Red Cross has also provided medical supplies and a health humanitarian expert to support Afghan Red Crescent Society mobile health teams. These supplies also supported those impacted by the August 2025 earthquake, as the communities affected by the population movement have been the most impacted by the earthquake as well. Afghan Red Crescent mobile health teams can uniquely access people in the most remote parts of the country, especially women and girls, and serve them through a culturally and gender-sensitive approach.

The Canadian Red Cross welcomes the Government of Canada’s legislative changes aimed at reducing barriers to providing humanitarian assistance inside of Afghanistan. We view these changes as a critical step forward in protecting our ability to provide impartial humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and other complex contexts.


How people living in Canada can help people impacted by crises in Afghanistan

The easiest way to support the work of the Canadian Red Cross is to donate to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis Appeal online, or by calling 1-800-418-1111. Making a financial donation is always the best way to support our humanitarian efforts on the ground.

Donate to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis Appeal

Money raised will enable the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Afghanistan and in and around the region to provide support to people hit hard by multiple humanitarian crises. The support would include health care and relief supplies for individuals and families, displaced populations, and those experiencing food insecurity. Funds will also be used for immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency, and preparedness for future events in and around impacted regions, including consequential events related to the current crises.


Past Canadian Red Cross support to date

The Canadian Red Cross has a longstanding partnership with the Afghan Red Crescent Society, working together to meet the immense humanitarian needs in the country, with a focus on health services and disaster response and readiness. This collaboration has allowed Afghan Red Crescent Society teams to provide crucial support, which for many, have been their only source for assistance and comfort during crises.

The Canadian Red Cross provided support to the Afghan Red Crescent Society to establish a mobile health care team. From 2016 to 2018, with assistance from Canadian Red Cross, the Afghan Red Crescent Society was able to deliver more than half a million health care services to people without regular access to primary health care facilities, especially in geographically inaccessible areas or in dangerous security conditions. The services included healthcare support to mothers, newborns and children as well as health education, and vaccinations.

During the time when Canadian Red Cross supported the Afghan Red Crescent Society, there was a notable improvement in maternity care services across all provinces.

From 2013 to 2017, the Canadian Red Cross collaborated with Global Affairs Canada to strengthen the Afghan Red Crescent’s capacity to deliver health care and disaster response services, including support for COVID-19 preparedness. Thanks to generous support from the Temerty Foundation, the Canadian Red Cross continued to support the Afghan Red Crescent Society in operating mobile health teams until 2022.

In 2024, the Canadian Red Cross sent essential relief items including kitchen sets and thermal blankets to support the Afghan Red Crescent Society floods response.

Through these collaboration efforts, the Canadian Red Cross and its partners in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement have made a vital contribution to help improve the lives of millions of Afghan people, providing essential aid and support in their most challenging times.