A plane carrying 92 tonnes of vital medicines has arrived in Afghanistan to treat about 675,000 people, including children, with life-threatening but treatable illnesses after an increase in respiratory infections and measles this year, Save the Children said on Tuesday.
The consignment – the largest delivered by Save the Children in a year – will provide lifesaving treatment for nearly 400,000 children afflicted by endemic childhood illnesses such as respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, acute watery diarrhoea, and skin diseases, the organization said in a statement.
Since the beginning of 2024, more than 1,000 children under the age of 5 have died after contracting pneumonia, comprising 88% of all deaths from respiratory infection.
The current number of cases is higher than the average number reported during the past three years, according to the World Health Organisation.
The number of measles cases among children under five has risen by 44% compared with the same period last year, the statement said.
“Too many children in Afghanistan die from easily preventable diseases and illnesses. The arrival of these medicines means that more than 400,000 children will receive potentially lifesaving treatment in some of the most remote areas of the country,” said Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan.
He added that every day around the world, roughly 16,000 children under the age of 5 will die from common illnesses that can be prevented and treated.
The medicines, which are worth about US $590,000, were donated by the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and Save the Children’s internal Humanitarian Fund, among other organisations.
