Since November 2021, we have been supporting 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 A few months earlier, Western troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan and the Taliban had taken power again. The country was plunged into a dramatic emergency and medical care for the population, especially for children, was no longer guaranteed. After an impressive report by Katrin Eigendorf on the Second German Television Channel (ZDF), in which she reported on the massive shortage at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital, we decided to support this important care unit with medicines, consumables and medical technology. This made us one of the first aid organisations to provide unbureaucratic assistance to the children of Afghanistan in this critical situation.
read more
We successfully implemented the project over a period of more than two years. We sent almost 28 tonnes of aid supplies during this time, thanks to close contact with the doctor in charge at the children’s hospital, reliable cooperation with the German TV channel ZDF, which was able to provide on-site film and photo documentation of our deliveries, financial and logistical support for the non-profit organisation ‘action medeor e. V.’ and participation in the EU airlift. This enabled us to make an important contribution to the medical care of the particularly vulnerable population group of children.
We ended the project, which was originally conceived as an ‘emergency aid measure’, in spring 2024 because conditions in Afghanistan have stabilised in the meantime and acute emergency aid is no longer appropriate. Many medicines are again available in the country in reasonable quality and IGICH is now supported by major international organisations.
Nevertheless, Afghanistan is still far from having a stable health care system. In particular, the country’s periphery is burdened by staff shortages and a lack of funding. Many people have no access to medical care, and children and newborns are particularly affected. We want to continue our commitment here and provide medical and humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan.
