FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 2023

Cologne. After the severe earthquakes last night and on Saturday, Malteser International provides 100,000 Euro for emergency relief for the people in Afghanistan. Within a few days there were several severe earthquakes in the province of Herat, three of them with a magnitude of 6.3. According to local authorities, more than 2,000 people lost their lives during the earthquakes last weekend alone. Information on the numbers of people affected by the latest quake is not yet known.

“The situation is devastating. Our partner organization Union Aid reports after an initial assessment of the affected areas that entire villages have been completely destroyed. Thousands of people have lost everything. We will now set up our aid broadly, because the people need literally everything: medical care, food, but also tents, blankets and hygiene articles. Winter is coming soon and it will be bitterly cold in this region. We have to make sure that these people now get the best possible protection until their houses are rebuilt,” says Cordula Wasser, Head of the Asia Department at Malteser International.

Even before the earthquakes, nearly 70 percent of the population was in need of humanitarian aid. “People barely had enough to live on even before the quakes. Now they have lost even what little they had,” Wasser says.

Malteser International has been working in Afghanistan since 2002. Together with our partner organization Union Aid, we are currently providing basic health services and medical care to malnourished children and pregnant women.

Attention editors:
Pictures can be downloaded here.
Cordula Wasser, Head of the Asia Department of Malteser International is available for interviews.

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Press Contact: Ximena Greenhouse, ximena.greenhouse(at)malteser-international.org

Malteser International Americas is an affiliate of Malteser International and is the worldwide relief and development organization of the Sovereign Order of Malta. The organization provides aid to people in need in around 140 projects in 36 countries, regardless of their religion, gender, origin, or political convictions. Christian values and humanitarian principles form the basis of its work. Further information: www.orderofmaltarelief.org