In recent years, drought has exacerbated water scarcity in Afghanistan. As of December 2021, 53 per cent of water points across three provinces were drying up. Decades of war and political instability compounded by climate change have decimated most of the hydrological infrastructure of the country. The breakdown of water services in urban settings has halved water availability and increased contamination from wastewater.

The impacts of unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene on children’s health are harmful and widespread. Debilitating diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio are all linked to contaminated water sources, the impact of which may compromise efforts on other fronts, including malnutrition. For children, whose immune systems are still developing, these diseases can have severe health consequences or death. Globally, every day over 700 children under age 5 die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene

As a result of the worst drought in 27 years, together with a collapsing economy, Afghanistan now has the highest number of people facing emergency food insecurity in the world. If current trends continue without immediate action, UNICEF estimates that 1.1 million children under 5 in Afghanistan will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2022 and will be at risk of death.

Safe water is fundamental to addressing malnutrition. Even with emergency nutrition interventions, if children continue to drink contaminated water they will be unable to absorb the nutrients they need, further exacerbating their illness.

In Afghanistan, nearly 40 per cent of schools do not have basic drinking water, and the remaining 60 per cent only have access to bacteriologically contaminated water. Similarly, 1 in 4 schools in Afghanistan do not have access to basic sanitation facilities and over 90 per cent of schools lack access to basic hygiene facilities. 

Available information suggests that around 27 per cent of water sources, where available, are over 0.5 km away from homes. When safe water is unavailable, children may be forced to miss school or drop out entirely to spend more time collecting water from sources that are farther away. Not only does this disrupt their schooling, it also places a great physical burden on children as they carry heavy loads of water.