At least 318,000 people need urgent humanitarian assistance following the string of earthquakes that have devastated a large part of Herat province in Afghanistan over the past 10 days, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Monday.
In a post on X, UNFPA said that this includes 76,000 women and girls of reproductive age, of which 7,400 are pregnant.
UNFPA “has mobilized partners to provide maternal and newborn care in the affected communities to ensure safe births,” the agency said.
This comes after many residents from the earthquake affected areas in Herat complained about the shortage of healthcare facilities.
An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude hit Zindajan district of Herat on October 7, killing over 1,000 people, injuring over 2,000 and destroying hundreds of houses. This quake was followed by a string of aftershocks as well as two more 6.3 magnitude quakes in the days that followed.
On Monday, October 16, survivors were seen digging through the rubble of their collapsed homes in the hope of salvaging some of their possessions..
Two children, one of which is a newborn baby, lost their mother in the earthquake and are now living with their grandmother. Zainab, the grandmother, lives in Naib Rafi village, which was one of the worst-hit areas. She tells of the pain experienced in the life-shattering moment the first earthquake hit.
“I was not at home when the earthquake happened. I didn’t know what was happening. When I returned home, I saw all of my daughters were under the [collapsed] walls. One of them was the mother of this newborn baby. Another daughter of mine had a broken hand,” she said.
On October 15, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that more than 90 percent of the victims were women and children.
UNICEF also made an urgent appeal of $20 million for the earthquake affected people.
