Since November 2021, we have supported Afghanistan’s largest children’s hospital, the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital (IGICH) in Kabul. A few months earlier, Western troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan and the Taliban had regained power. The country fell into a dramatic state of emergency, and the medical care of the population, especially children, was no longer guaranteed. Following an impressive report by Katrin Eigendorf on ZDF, in which she reported on the massive shortage situation at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital, we decided to support this important care facility with medications, consumables, and medical equipment. This made us one of the first aid organizations to provide unbureaucratic assistance to the children of Afghanistan in this critical situation.
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We successfully implemented the project over more than two years. Through close contact with the responsible physician at the children’s hospital, through reliable cooperation with ZDF, which was able to document our deliveries on site through film and photo documentation, through financial and logistical support from the non-profit organization “action medeor e. V.” and through participation in the EU airlift, we sent nearly 28 tons of relief supplies during this time. This enabled us to make an important contribution to the medical care of the particularly vulnerable population group of children.
We concluded the project, originally conceived as an “emergency relief measure,” in spring 2024, as conditions in Afghanistan have since stabilized and acute emergency relief is no longer appropriate. Many medications are now available in the country in acceptable quality, and IGICH is now supported by major international organizations.
Nevertheless, Afghanistan is far from having stable healthcare. The country’s periphery in particular is burdened by staff shortages and underfunding, many people have no access to medical care, and children and newborns are especially affected. We would like to continue our commitment here and provide medical and humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.
