UN / AFGHANISTAN UPDATE

The UN and its partners are continuing to scale up response to the devastating earthquakes that have struck the east of Afghanistan in the past two weeks. The UN has reached at least 60,000 people with food assistance, a UN Spokesperson said. UNIFEED

• Video Length: 00:03:33
• Production Date: 11 September 2025
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN - UNAMA
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; UNITED NATIONS PERSONNEL
• Geographic Subject: AFGHANISTAN
• MAMS Id: 3446167
• Parent Id: 3446167
• Alternate Title: unifeed250911d

Description

STORY: UN / AFGHANISTAN UPDATE
TRT: 3:33
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters

11 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY

2. Various shots, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We, along with our partners, are continuing to scale up our response to the devastating earthquakes that have struck the east of the country in the past two weeks. Our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that so far, humanitarians have carried out joint assessments in over 80 of the more than 400 villages that were the hardest hit. In these areas alone, more than 6,000 homes were destroyed and over 1,300 others damaged. We, along and our partners, have reached at least 60,000 people with food assistance. Malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women have also received specialized nutrition support, and nearly 30,000 people have been provided safe drinking water. Humanitarians are also delivering emergency shelter materials, repair kits, hygiene assistance, psychosocial support and referral for gender-based violence. More than two dozen mobile health teams have been deployed, along with medicines, equipment, supplies and ambulances. But our humanitarian colleagues warn that far more resources are needed to sustain the response. As you know, earlier this week we launched an emergency response plan for nearly $140 million so that aid organizations can help some 457,000 people impacted by the earthquakes over the next four months. We call on the international community to step up efforts for the Afghan people at this critical time, and with winter fast approaching.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Those restrictions are putting at serious risk the essential humanitarian assistance currently being delivered by the UN in earthquake-affected areas in Afghanistan. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that it is engaging with the de facto authorities and calling for the immediate lifting of the restrictions to continue critical support to the Afghan people. The Mission notes that on 7 September, the de facto Afghan security forces prevented our national female staff and contractors from entering our own compound in Kabul. This restriction was extended to UN field offices across the country, following written or verbal notifications from the de facto authorities. The UN Mission in Kabul said that Security forces are visibly present at the entrances of our premises in Kabul, in Herat, and in Mazar-i-Sharif, all to enforce the restriction. This is particularly concerning in view of continuing restrictions on the rights of all Afghan women and girls. The United Nations has also received reports of de facto security forces attempting to bar national female staff from travelling to field locations, including to support women and girls as part of our urgent earthquake response, which we have been telling you about. They are also blocking them from accessing operational sites for Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan. The UN Mission said that the current actions disregard previously communicated arrangements between the de facto authorities and the United Nations in Afghanistan. In response to this serious disruption, the UN Mission and UN agencies, funds, and programmes in Afghanistan have implemented interim operational adjustments to protect staff and assess viable options for continuing their principled and essential work.”
6. Wide shot, press briefing room

Storyline

The UN and its partners are continuing to scale up response to the devastating earthquakes that have struck the east of Afghanistan in the past two weeks. The UN has reached at least 60,000 people with food assistance, a UN Spokesperson said.

Speaking to reporters today (11 Sep) in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that humanitarians have carried out joint assessments in over 80 of the more than 400 villages that were the hardest hit. In these areas alone, more than 6,000 homes were destroyed and over 1,300 others damaged.

The UN have reached at least 60,000 people with food assistance, Dujarric said, adding that “malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women have also received specialized nutrition support, and nearly 30,000 people have been provided safe drinking water.”

He continued, “Humanitarians are also delivering emergency shelter materials, repair kits, hygiene assistance, psychosocial support and referral for gender-based violence.”

More than two dozen mobile health teams have been deployed, along with medicines, equipment, supplies and ambulances, the Spokesperson said.

However, the UN humanitarian colleagues warned that “far more resources are needed to sustain the response.”

Earlier this week, the UN launched an emergency response plan for nearly $140 million so that aid organizations can help some 457,000 people impacted by the earthquakes over the next four months.

“We call on the international community to step up efforts for the Afghan people at this critical time, and with winter fast approaching,” Dujarric said.

Also on Afghanistan, the Spokesperson gave an update on the ongoing restrictions regarding UN’s national female staff.

“Those restrictions are putting at serious risk the essential humanitarian assistance currently being delivered by the UN in earthquake-affected areas in Afghanistan,” Dujarric reiterated.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that it is engaging with the de facto authorities and calling for “the immediate lifting of the restrictions to continue critical support to the Afghan people,” the Spokesperson said.

The Mission notes that on 7 September, the de facto Afghan security forces prevented its national female staff and contractors from entering the Mission’s compound in Kabul. This restriction was extended to UN field offices across the country, following written or verbal notifications from the de facto authorities.

The UN Mission in Kabul said that Security forces are visibly present at the entrances of our premises in Kabul, in Herat, and in Mazar-i-Sharif, all to enforce the restriction, Dujarric said, highlighting this is “particularly concerning in view of continuing restrictions on the rights of all Afghan women and girls.”

The United Nations has also received reports of de facto security forces attempting to bar national female staff from travelling to field locations, including to support women and girls as part of our urgent earthquake response.

The Spokesperson added, “They are also blocking them from accessing operational sites for Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan.”

The UN Mission said that the current actions “disregard previously communicated arrangements between the de facto authorities and the United Nations in Afghanistan.”

“In response to this serious disruption, the UN Mission and UN agencies, funds, and programmes in Afghanistan have implemented interim operational adjustments to protect staff and assess viable options for continuing their principled and essential work,” Dujarric concluded.