June 24. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Around 120 children are among the more than 1,000 fatalities of the earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the open Richter scale registered on Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday. .
“There are at least 121 children among the thousand dead that the earthquake has left,” said the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, Mohamed Ayoya, who pointed out that “this earthquake has been another tragic reminder of the challenges facing the people of Afghanistan”.
“We offer our deepest condolences to all those affected and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he said, before stressing that “the total number of people killed or injured has not yet been confirmed, but it is expected that the figures will increase to as search and rescue operations continue.
Thus, he explained that the district of Bermal, in the province of Paktika, has the highest number of victims, while stressing that “several thousand” homes have been destroyed or damaged. “Children and adolescents are extremely vulnerable and are at high risk of family separation, emotional and psychological distress, abuse and exploitation, and other forms of violence,” she warned.
Ayoya stressed that UNICEF and its partners are working together with the Taliban authorities to “give the best response” to the victims and confirmed that a support team from the agency traveled to the field on Wednesday to “assess the damage and urgent needs of affected populations to prioritize aid.
In this sense, it has supported the fact that UNICEF has delivered emergency medicines in the provinces of Paktika and Jost, while sending 500 first aid kits, as well as 45 kits to treat and prevent the spread of both acute watery diarrhea and diarrhea. anger.
“UNICEF, in coordination with UN agencies, its allies and ‘de facto’ authorities, is rapidly preparing a multisectoral response that covers health, water and sanitation, child protection, nutrition, education, social mobilization needs and includes aid in cash,” he said, before stressing that he is also “activating community networks in the affected areas and will increase the number of child protection service providers and social workers.”
Afghan authorities on Thursday raised the dead to more than 1,100 and said another 1,600 people had been injured. Likewise, the Afghan Ministry of Disaster Management indicated that more than a thousand of those injured by Tuesday’s earthquake are in critical condition, so it is not ruled out that the death toll may increase during the next few hours, while the search and rescue operations.
The leader of the Taliban, Mullah Hebatullah Ahundzada, called on the international community on Wednesday to help the authorities to attend to the victims, while the United Nations and its agencies have begun to mobilize resources to deal with the emergency. .
The earthquake had its epicenter about 44 kilometers from the city of Jost, while its epicenter has been at a depth of about 51 kilometers, later revised to about ten kilometers, according to data published on its website by the United States Geological Survey. States (USGS).
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