A severe earthquake hit southeastern Afghanistan on August 31, followed by another within days. More than 1,400 people have lost their lives and rescue efforts are ongoing. Afghans continue to live through “multiple crises,” as a United Nations official described, including the forced return of an estimated 1.2 million people living as refugees in neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Iran. These crises are unfolding while there is diminished aid from the United States and other countries that have either stopped funding work in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover or otherwise cut global aid spending. 

If you have the resources to donate, here are a few options to consider:

• The World Food Programme is delivering food and other disaster response aid. 
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is delivering emergency trauma care supplies and other support.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross is delivering urgent aid.

While we watched this awful event in Afghanistan, another disaster occurred in Sudan. A landslide hit a village in the Marra Mountains area of Darfur, and more than 1,000 people lost their lives. An Al Jazeera reporter in Khartoum, Mohamed Vall, explained that the mountainous area is difficult for rescuers to reach and can’t be reached by car – which is why people seek shelter in areas like the impacted village, Tarasin, during a war. People in Sudan have lived through civil war and its atrocities since April 2023, and 11.9 million are now displaced. Earlier this year, the United Nations called the situation in Sudan “the largest and most devastating displacement, humanitarian and protection crisis in the world today.”

To support those affected by the landslide, please consider: 

• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) delivers healthcare and supplies across Sudan, and said it is monitoring how to support landslide victims.

Bombing by Israel continued in Gaza in the last week. The Gaza Health Ministry reported on September 1 that the attacks killed 98 people in the last 24 hours, and a further nine died from malnutrition and starvation. Israel has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians since its military campaign began in October 2023. Scholars call the campaign a genocide. Some 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced.

Here are a few options to support those in Gaza: 

• Islamic Relief Canada delivers urgent aid including meals, water, and medical services.
• The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund provides urgent medical care and supplies. 
• Glia delivers medical devices, supplies and support.
• The Humani Project funds food kitchens delivering hot meals.
• Share the Meal, under the World Food Programme, delivers life-saving food baskets.

Please research the organization and campaign that seems right to you before giving.

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