What Must Be Done Now to Help the Children of Afghanistan

In testimony before the House International Relations Committee of the U.S. Congress, Save the Children identified these key issues with respect to the urgent health and safety needs of children in Afghanistan:

Lack of food and safe drinking water, which is causing malnutrition and sickness
Insufficient health care and inadequate supply of vaccines and antibiotics
Disrupted family life caused by migration and unstable conditions
Risk of injury and death from land mines and other unexploded ordnance
Need for shelter, clothing, warm blankets and heating fuel during the winter
Minimal access to basic primary education
Continued political and social instability that threatens the security of the population and relief workers alike

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The U.S. government has responded generously to the urgent humanitarian needs of children and families in Afghanistan. However, reestablishing health and education services and economic self-sufficiency, and providing a better future for Afghan children, will also require a long-term commitment.

THE PROTECTION, SURVIVAL AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILDREN AND SOCIETY IN AFGHANISTAN DEPEND ON THE FOLLOWING:

Establishment of Nationwide Stability and Safety
The international community, including the United States, should support efforts to stabilize and maintain the security of Afghan society, and work with the Afghan government to ensure the continued safe and efficient delivery of humanitarian aid.
Continued Prioritization of Humanitarian Assistance
The lives and health of more than 7 million people will continue to be at risk, even as planning for reconstruction and rehabilitation begins, unless there is an immediate increase in the delivery and distribution of food, shelter, fuel and health care services.
Expanded Long-Term Development
As we focus on the immediate crisis in Afghanistan, it is critical that resources also be allocated for the long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghan society. Work must begin today to establish self-sustaining community health services, a basic system for universal primary education, opportunities for increasing family income, and the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure.
Heightened Focus on Children and Women
Women play a crucial role in the stability and development of society and the care of their children - the next generation. They must be guaranteed equitable access to the tools necessary to improve their lives: basic and reproductive health care, including family planning, education and economic opportunity.
Keeping Our Worldwide Commitments
Federal appropriations for the Afghanistan crisis should be in addition to, and not detract from, humanitarian and development support for other developing countries where there are also millions of children and families in need. Moreover, in a world where more than 1.2 billion people, 70 percent of whom are women, still live on less than $1 a day, a substantial increase in funds is needed to support social and economic development programs that offer families a way out of poverty and despair.

Hope for the future of the children in Afghanistan, and for a better, safer world for all, rests with the actions taken today by concerned citizens and governments around the world.