Medair responds to urgent healthcare needs after earthquake in Afghanistan

Zewar lives with her married sons and grandchildren in a foothill village, surrounded by mountains that seem to touch the clouds. Her family was severely impacted by the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Afghanistan on 31 August 2025.  

“Our house was destroyed in the earthquake – my children and grandchildren were injured”, Zewar said. “I was also suffering from severe pain in my back and legs.”  

The quake left communities in a profound devastation. According to The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the quake caused the death of 1,984 people. A further 3,617 were injured, and 8,283 houses were destroyed in Laghaman, Nangarhar, and Kunar provinces.

Now, Medair is present in Zewar’s village, providing life-saving medical treatment.  

“After my visit to this clinic, I feel better because of the treatment I received,” she told us while at the Medair-supported health facility in Kunar, Afghanistan.

Zewar also has two daughters-in-law in the village; both were pregnant when the earthquake struck and devastated the area.  

Zewar brought them to the Medair clinic. “They received crucial medical care treatment during pregnancy and after the birth. Both the mothers and my grandchildren received treatment,” she said.

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Medair health facilities have had an immense impact on the people in Zewar’s community who are facing health issues. The absence of a health facility previously meant that women and children were forced to travel five to six hours over rough, mountainous terrain in unreliable vehicles to access treatment. For many patients – especially pregnant women – this journey was extremely difficult.  

Medair now provides crucial services covering communities across six remote and mountainous villages in Kunar.  

“The Medair clinic is a source of peace to our hearts,” said Zewar.

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Pseudonyms have been used for the people mentioned in the article to protect their identities.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.

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