UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has recently stated that the impact of climate change on Afghanistan represents a silent emergency, as more than half of the country’s water sources in drought-prone provinces have dried up.
Tajuddin Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, speaking alongside the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil (COP-30), said that eight out of every ten people in Afghanistan use contaminated water. He added that Afghanistan is among the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change, despite contributing almost nothing to the global crisis.
He emphasized that the effects of climate and water crises on Afghan families are often overlooked.
Oyewale added: “The impact of climate change on the country is truly a silent emergency; more than half of the water sources in key drought-prone provinces have dried up.”
In his report, the UNICEF representative noted that eight in ten people drink contaminated water, and that healthcare systems in urban areas are collapsing under the pressure of disasters and environmental degradation, leading to an increasing spread of waterborne diseases.
Oyewale also said that Afghanistan remains one of the least-funded countries when it comes to global humanitarian crises, receiving only five percent of the funds required to ensure safe and climate-resilient water and sanitation access.
Despite these funding shortages, UNICEF stated that it continues to work tirelessly with its partners to provide assistance to families and children facing multiple emergencies.
The UNICEF representative called on world leaders attending the conference in Brazil to remember the countries not present in the negotiation halls and the children searching for water with empty containers.
It is worth noting that the United Nations Climate Change Conference officially began on Monday in Belém, Brazil. Afghanistan does not have a representative at this conference.
