News

Access to medical care for earthquake survivors in Kunar

With the financial support of the European Union, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) provides cash assistance to ensure men and women can access essential services after crisis.

Women walking between camps in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan

With the financial support of the European Union, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) provides cash assistance to ensure men and women can access essential services.

In Kunar, DRC provided cash that was used to access vital healthcare, following the 2025 Kunar Earthquake. Many people suffered severe injuries from the earthquake but were left unable to access appropriate medical care. Forced displacement and loss of livelihoods due to the wide-scale destruction posed common physical and financial barriers to access services.

By covering medical bills and transportation costs from remote villages and temporary settlements to specialised healthcare providers, DRC addresses both barriers that prevented individuals from obtaining necessary care.

On the night of 1 September 2025, a magnitude 6 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, followed by several strong aftershocks in the days and weeks that followed. The areas most affected were Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces, where the earthquake resulted in significant casualties and caused extensive destruction. According to findings from an inter-agency Multi-Sector Rapid Needs Assessment (MSRA), the earthquake resulted in 1,992 deaths and left more than 3,600 people injured, and an estimated 8,489 households (55,945 individuals) forced to seek shelter in temporary sites, where many remain at the time of writing.

As an emergency actor in Afghanistan, DRC was among the first to respond to the disaster, both immediately and in the months that followed.

Lack of access to medical care quickly emerged as a critical protection risk. Many people had sustained severe injuries, facing long-term disability or severe harm without treatment. This case study highlights two women who were seriously injured and lost their homes on 1 September. They now live in a one-room tent with extended family, with minimal income and few belongings.

Both women were referred to specialised healthcare and received life-changing treatment, supporting their recovery and strengthening their ability to cope with displacement.

Rohina

Rohina is 22 years old and now lives in Patan Camp, in Kunar Province. The camp hosts families displaced by the earthquake; Rohina, her husband, their two daughters, and her mother-in-law share a single-room tent.

Before the earthquake, the family lived in a multi-generational home in Nurgal District, one of the areas hardest hit. Their multi-storey house collapsed during the tremors, leaving Rohina with a severe spinal injury and unconscious.

It took several hours for a helicopter to reach Rohina, but she was eventually transported to Nangarhar hospital, where she underwent emergency spinal surgery. While the first operation prevented paralysis, a second was urgently needed to stabilise her condition.

We were all asleep when it happened. I remember the shaking and the fear. The next thing I knew, when I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. I can walk. I still use crutches and my husband helps me on the long way to the washrooms for now. But I am getting better and I am grateful for the support I received. We want to return to our village and the life we had before the earthquake, when we lived off agriculture and our livestock. But for now, my immediate goal is to be able to breastfeed my child.

Rohina received 35,000 AFN (around 545 USD) from DRC to cover transport and medical costs, enabling Rohina to return to hospital and receive the second surgery.

When Rohina was first identified as in need of assistance she faced both mental and physical strain, feeling like a burden on her family, on whom she relied for mobility. One of her immediate concerns following the earthquake and her injury had been that she was unable to breastfeed her infant child.

The family were also grieving the loss of their five-year-old nephew who was killed when their house collapsed on him. The trauma of the earthquake and the loss of a child, their home, and livelihood continued to pay a heavy toll on the family with the psychological impact significant impacting Rohina.

Rohina explains that relying on humanitarian support makes thinking about the future challenging, yet her recovery and the strength she is regaining have allowed her to start looking ahead again.

Before the earthquake, Maliha lived with her family in Nurgal District. Maliha shared a home with her eight family members, consisting of her parents and five siblings. The family now all live in the camp, having lost their home and means of supporting themselves economically due to the destruction of the earthquake.

Beyond the loss of their previous life, Maliha’s suffering was compounded by an injury she suffered during the earthquake. When the family home collapsed in the middle of the night, while she and her family were asleep, Maliha became trapped. She had attempted to escape but was struck by a falling beam that smashed her hip bone. If left untreated, Maliha’s injury risked resulting in permanent disability.

I was depressed. I could not do anything. I could not sit. I could not walk. I was completely reliant on the kindness of my family members to carry me whenever I needed to move. My condition still weighs heavily on me. But now I have more hope that, when I am fully recovered, I will be like I was before. As the oldest daughter in my family, I want to return to my responsibilities. I want to support my family, help care for my younger siblings, and eventually have a family of my own.

DRC provided Maliha with 5,000 AFN (USD 78) in financial support, to cover the transportation fees for her access to medical treatment at Nangarhar hospital, where she underwent hip surgery. While she still experiences pain from her injury, Maliha is increasingly hopeful that she will be able to reclaim the life she had envisioned for herself, which seemed lost after the earthquake.

Cash assistance that can cover transportation and medical costs is life changing and, in many cases, lifesaving for survivors of natural disasters such as the Kunar earthquake. It enables women to access the care they need, begin their recovery, and start to rebuild a sense of independence and control over their future.