In 2024, over 500 Afghan children were killed or injured by unexploded ordnance and remnants of war, as reported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). To combat this, UNICEF trained three million children and their guardians on recognizing and avoiding explosive dangers. A picture shared by UNICEF on social media showed children learning to identify and avoid these threats.
On November 12, the HALO Trust, a demining organization, reported that over 65 square kilometers of land in 26 Afghan provinces remain contaminated with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Afghanistan is one of the four most heavily mine-contaminated countries globally. HALO operates with 2,235 demining personnel in the country. The Taliban had previously planted landmines without systematic mapping, posing severe risks to communities, especially children. More demining operations and educational campaigns are needed to prevent further casualties.
Additionally, the World Food Program (WFP) highlighted a funding shortfall, stating it can only aid seven million of the 14 million hungry people in Afghanistan. Pauline Eloff, head of the WFP's emergency department, emphasized the need for international support to help families survive the winter.
UNICEF is a part of the United Nations that helps children all over the world. They work to make sure kids are healthy, safe, and can go to school.
The HALO Trust is an organization that helps make places safe by removing landmines and other dangerous explosives. They work in countries where there has been war to make the land safe again.
Explosive dangers refer to things like bombs or landmines that can explode and hurt people. In places where there has been fighting, these can be left behind and are very dangerous.
Unexploded ordnance are bombs or explosives that did not go off when they were supposed to. They can still explode if someone touches them, making them very dangerous.
IEDs stand for Improvised Explosive Devices. These are homemade bombs that can be very dangerous and are often used in conflicts.
The World Food Program is an organization that helps provide food to people who are hungry, especially in places where there is not enough food.
Funding shortages mean there is not enough money to do everything that needs to be done. In this case, it means there isn't enough money to help all the hungry people in Afghanistan.
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