Khulm earthquake: MSF teams respond in Afghanistan

The earthquake has led to at least 20 deaths and injured around 950 people. Our teams at Kunduz Trauma Center have treated 49 people with earthquake-related injuries, including six in the inpatient department and one with a spinal injury who was referred to Kunduz Regional Hospital.

Blocked roads mean people have to wait for critical care 

"My mother was sleeping when the earthquake happened,” says the son of Saira, a patient who was brought to the trauma center for an injury sustained in the quake. “My brother called her to wake up. She tried to get up but suddenly fell to the floor and broke her leg." 

Blocked roads prevented the family from taking Saira for treatment in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is near their home, so they took her to MSF’s Kunduz Trauma Center the following morning. There, doctors assessed her condition and admitted her for surgery for external fixation.

The November 3 earthquake follows a magnitude-6 quake that hit Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province on August 31, close to the border with Pakistan. MSF teams distributed emergency kits in Jalalabad, near the epicenter, in addition to assessing the needs on the ground. Poor living conditions resulting from damaged infrastructure put survivors at risk of communicable diseases, with limited access to clean water and hygiene.

MSF’s work in Afghanistan 

Our teams in Afghanistan work to bring health care to remote communities, support strained medical facilities, and provide critical services such as emergency, trauma, maternal, and pediatric care.