Residents in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province say respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia and severe colds, are rising sharply among children as winter temperatures fall, exacerbated by poverty, inadequate heating and limited access to healthcare.
Local residents said children from low-income families were particularly vulnerable, with many households unable to afford heating fuel or basic medical treatment. Some families reported that multiple children had fallen ill in recent weeks.
“This child has pneumonia,” said a Kandahar resident, describing the condition of a young relative. “Our home is badly damaged, the children are scattered between relatives, and most of them are sick. We have no facilities and no means to treat them.”
Another resident, Bibi Amina, said her grandchild had been ill for two weeks since the onset of colder weather. “Other children in the family are also sick. Nearly all of them have the same illness,” she said.
Healthcare access has deteriorated in parts of the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with many clinics facing shortages of doctors, medicines and funding. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that winter conditions, combined with economic hardship, could worsen health outcomes for children.
Residents in Kandahar have urged authorities and humanitarian organisations to expand medical services and provide winter assistance, including heating supplies and essential medicines, to vulnerable families.
