Afghanistan: Humanitarian Update, November 2025

Earthquake-stricken communities in northern Afghanistan face a harsh winter

On 3 November 2025, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan near the Balkh and Samangan border. While the earthquake was felt across several parts of the country and neighboring regions, damage was fairly localized to Balkh and Samangan provinces.

According to joint assessments, the earthquake killed 26 people and injured 1,050. In Samangan Province, 13 people were killed and 421 injured, while Balkh Province reported 12 deaths and 635 injuries. Overall, 3,898 families were verified as affected, with more than 1,000 homes destroyed and nearly 3,000 homes damaged, leaving thousands of people exposed as winter temperatures set in.

Between 23 and 28 November, OCHA Head of Office Amy Martin visited earthquake-affected communities in Samangan Province and surrounding areas to assess the humanitarian situation and engage directly with affected families and community elders.

During the visit, community representatives acknowledged the prompt emergency response provided by humanitarian partners but emphasized that their needs remain urgent. Elders highlighted the lack of adequate shelter, heating, water and resources to rebuild homes before winter intensifies.

“We appreciate the immediate support we received,” elders said. “But without further assistance to repair or rebuild our houses, surviving the winter will be very difficult.”

Many of the affected districts were already severely impacted by prolonged drought, with drying water sources and weakened livelihoods. The earthquake has compounded these vulnerabilities, increasing the risk of food insecurity, water shortages and health complications.

Among those affected is an eight-year-old girl who broke her leg when a wall collapsed on her during the earthquake. Unable to walk or attend school, she is recovering at home as her family struggles to meet basic needs amid damaged shelter and limited resources.

Humanitarian partners, coordinated by OCHA, have provided initial relief, including emergency shelter and non-food items, food assistance, health and psychosocial services, water and sanitation support, multipurpose cash assistance and protection services.

However, significant gaps remain, particularly in shelter repair, winterization assistance and multipurpose cash support, which are critical to help families withstand the winter and begin recovery.

OCHA and partners continue to call for sustained funding and support to ensure that earthquake-affected communities can recover safely and with dignity and to prevent further humanitarian deterioration during the winter months.

Saving lives through rapid mine action response in Afghanistan

Explosive ordnance contamination remains one of the most severe and persistent threats to civilian safety in Afghanistan, restricting access to land, livelihoods, education and essential services for millions of people. In response, the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan (AREA), with support from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), is implementing a large-scale mine action project across 120 high-risk districts in the central, central highland, eastern, southern, southeastern and western regions. The initiative combines emergency response, surveys, clearance and community engagement to reduce immediate risks while contributing to long-term recovery and resilience.

A powerful example of this life-saving work took place in Ghal Dara village, Mohammad Agha district, Logar Province, demonstrating the critical importance of rapid mine action capacity.

On 20 November 2025, a group of 40 students from Kabul Polytechnic University traveled to the mountainous area of Ghal Dara village for academic field research. Unaware that the area was contaminated with Soviet-era landmines, the students entered a high-risk zone. During their fieldwork, a PMN-2 anti-personnel mine detonated, seriously injuring a 22-year-old student and resulting in the traumatic amputation of his leg. Instantly, the remaining students and lecturers found themselves trapped in a mine-contaminated area, where any movement could have triggered further explosions.

Local authorities immediately contacted AREA’s Quick Response Team, which was deployed nearby under the AHF-supported Quick Response Project. Despite rugged terrain and ongoing security risks, the team mobilized rapidly and reached the site with full equipment for emergency clearance and marking.

Upon arrival, the team conducted a rapid risk assessment and began clearing a safe evacuation corridor. Within less than two hours, AREA’s deminers successfully created a 200-meter-long, 2-meter-wide safe lane, allowing the safe evacuation of 39 students and academic staff. What could have become a national tragedy was averted through timely, skilled humanitarian action.

This incident highlights the unpredictable nature of explosive ordnance contamination in Afghanistan — according to mine action records, the accident occurred nearly 60 meters outside a previously recorded hazardous area. Through activities such as the clearance of small hazards, the re-surveying of large contaminated areas and response to emergency call-outs, AREA’s mine action efforts directly support safer access to education, healthcare and livelihoods. Women, children, students, returnees and host communities all benefit from this gender-sensitive, community-driven approach.

As one local official in Mohammad Agha district noted, “Without AREA’s Quick Response Team, we might have lost many young lives that day. Their arrival was the difference between tragedy and survival.”

This success story reflects the humanitarian impact of sustained mine action support in Afghanistan. By maintaining rapid response capacity, strengthening coordination with national authorities and working closely with affected communities, AREA continues to save lives, restore safe land, and enable access to education, livelihoods and essential services. Continued donor and partner support ensures that emergency response teams, surveys, and clearance operations remain operational, allowing timely interventions that prevent loss of life and contribute to long-term recovery, resilience and peace in one of the world’s most mine-affected countries.

When wells run dry, worries run high: A climate-related human story from Faryab Province

Before sunrise in Quraish village, Dawlat Abad district of Faryab Province, Nasima quietly lifts a plastic container to fetch water. Winter is approaching, but thirst worries her more than the cold. “We have shelter, but we still need water and winter support,” she said during an OCHA-facilitated discussion with women. In her village, needs are simple but heavy: water to drink, warmth to sleep and work to survive.

Across Faryab Province, communities told the same story in different words. In Almar’s Guppi Mirishkar village, unsafe water makes children sick. In Bilcheragh’s Nishar village, returnees described coming back with nothing. In a remote village of Khwaja Sabz Posh, an elder summed it up starkly: “We have no water, no food and no work. Even one day of labour is a dream.”

When water runs low, livelihoods dry up too. Farmers described drought-strained fields and families selling livestock at low prices — selling tomorrow to survive today. In Nishar, home to more than 1,500 families, including recent returnees and deportees from Iran, an elder said, “Before, our sons sent money from Iran. Now they are back and we have no way to survive.” As income disappears, families reduce meals, take on debt and in some cases send children to work instead of school.

Distance is another form of deprivation. In Quraish, the nearest clinic is more than five kilometers away — most dangerous during childbirth. In Guppi Mirishkar, one school building is meant to serve eight villages but is not yet functional, and girls’ education remains limited. Families asked for basic protective measures: potable water in schools, safe school boundaries, and services close enough to reach women and children.

Faryab’s challenges are not only about drought. In Nishar, a river running through the village brings seasonal floods, forcing families to relocate. Communities asked for retaining walls and check dams, saying they are ready to contribute labour but cannot manage alone.

People described coping strategies that come at a high cost: rationing water, stretching food, selling assets, and taking on debt. In remote areas without phone coverage, even asking for help requires travel. Awareness of the Awaaz humanitarian helpline was low across communities and people said they want reliable ways to be heard.

Despite this, communities spoke not only of need but of solutions: completing unfinished wells, extending water pipes, building flood protection and ensuring water in schools. They asked for lasting support, not one-time relief. As one proverb reminds them, “Ba yak gul bahar namishawad” — one flower does not bring spring.

Humanitarian partners are present across Faryab, yet gaps remain, especially in water services. Numbers show reach, but stories show meaning. A shelter without winterization is a roof without warmth. A school without water is a classroom where thirst is the loudest lesson.

The final message from communities was not despair, but determination. Drop by drop, a river is made. With timely support for water, livelihoods, health services and communication, families in Faryab say they can do more than survive. They can rebuild.

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   This article was produced with the support of OCHA Afghanistan colleagues at the sub-national level, Nova Ratnanto and Ahmad Jawed Musleh.