Aid worker Athena Rayburn, from Save the Children, reports on the crisis in Afghanistan. Healthcare is a human right, but for millions in Afghanistan, it has become a distant dream, she writes.

Afghanistan is one of the toughest places in the world to be an older person, and the troubles last summer put them at further risk. Your support for the DEC Afghanistan Crisis Appeal has allowed Age International to reach over 4,400 families with support tailored to the needs of older people and those with disabilities,

In December last year, we launched an urgent appeal for the crisis in Afghanistan, which has raised an incredible £50 million. From the thousands of people we have supported, here are three lives we have impacted, thanks to donations from the UK public.

A review of DEC member programmes in phase 1 of the humanitarian response.

Donations to the DEC Afghanistan Crisis Appeal are a lifeline for families facing hunger and suffering across the country. Here’s how DEC charities and their local partners have helped families struggling to survive, and will continue to support them in the months ahead.

DEC member charities are already on the ground delivering life-saving aid.

HRH The Prince of Wales has issued a message of support for the DEC’s Afghanistan Crisis Appeal which has now raised more than £17.5 million in under a week, with aid already being distributed on the ground. 

The people of Afghanistan are facing a crisis of catastrophic proportions. 22 million face acute hunger; over eight million are on the brink of famine. Lives are already being lost. With snow falling in Kabul and the cold about to set in to block off supply routes, aid workers say there is an urgency to save lives. 

Leading UK aid agencies will launch a joint fundraising appeal on Wednesday 15 December as a catastrophic rise in severe hunger sweeps Afghanistan, with eight million people at risk of starvation over the harsh winter months. Children are already dying, and a million more are at risk.