Afghanistan: ICRC team reaches remote communities affected by earthquake in Kunar

The ICRC’s response included bringing donated medical supplies such as dressing packages and oral and intravenous kits, crutches and wheelchairs to regional hospitals in Nangarhar and Kunar that have received an influx of hundreds of injured patients. It is also providing vehicles to the Kabul ambulance department that is part of the emergency response, as well as equipment and supplies to the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) Eastern region branch. One of the ARCS’s mobile teams provides basic health services to remote areas in Nurgal district once a week.

“So far we have helped around 1,100 injured people from the earthquake alone,” said Fahimullah, head of Nangarhar hospital. Some patients require long-term care due to arm, leg or spinal fractures, he added. “They will stay in neurosurgery, orthopaedic and general surgery wards to receive treatment.”

The ICRC’s physical rehabilitation center in Jalalabad branched out to the main hospitals in Nangahar and Kunar with male and female teams to provide physical therapy for survivors of the earthquake. This is an essential service that is often not prioritized as part of medical treatment in Afghanistan and can help prevent long-term complications for major trauma and spinal cord injuries.