OCHA: children are 78% of explosive remnant casualties in Afghanistan

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that explosive remnants of past wars in Afghanistan still threaten civilians every day, and that children make up the vast majority of the victims.

Citing an OCHA report published on Wednesday, KabulNow reported that children accounted for 78 percent of casualties from explosions involving remnants of war between the start of January and the end of August 2026. Afghanistan International also reported the figure, citing OCHA.

According to OCHA, humanitarian organisations need $14.5 million under the 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan for mine-action work in Afghanistan, but only $4.3 million has been secured so far, leaving a gap of $10.2 million.

Olga Cherevko, a member of the OCHA team in Afghanistan, said some areas may look safe on the surface but still hide explosive devices that can kill or cause severe injuries, including amputations. She watched the controlled destruction of a bomb dating back to the 1980s in Kandahar's Zhari district, two days after a local resident found it. She said falling funding means people are forced to live with dangers they cannot see.

Children often come across such devices while playing, collecting scrap metal or herding livestock. KabulNow noted that on 30 September three children were killed and another was injured when an unexploded device went off in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province.

Citing UN data, KabulNow said about 3.3 million people in Afghanistan live within one kilometre of areas contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Source: KabulNow, Afghanistan International