MALAWI, 1 April 2026 – Continuous heavy rains between 15 and 19 March have since triggered widespread flooding across multiple districts, with Chikwawa District among the hardest hit.

In Chikwawa, rising water levels in the Shire and Mwanza rivers have led to loss of lives, displacement of families, destruction of homes, and disruption of key access routes. The Chikwawa–Nsanje road at Bereu Trading Centre remains impassable, further limiting humanitarian access to affected communities.

Urgent needs on the ground include temporary shelter such as tarpaulins, tents, and plastic sheets, as well as food assistance including maize flour, beans, cooking oil, salt, and sugar.

Affected families also require essential non-food items such as kitchen utensils, blankets, mosquito nets, soap, chlorine, and emergency latrines. Support for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), particularly through sanitation assistance and water treatment, is also critical.

Response efforts by Islamic Relief are ongoing. The Emergency Response Team is conducting further needs assessments in collaboration with the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), while also participating in inter-agency assessments led by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and UN partners.

Activities include physical verification of affected households, continuous monitoring of the evolving situation, and planning for potential food and non-food item distributions.

As the situation continues to develop, coordinated humanitarian action remains crucial to support affected families and ensure timely assistance reaches those in need.

TIRANA, 12 January 2026 — Islamic Relief has mobilised an emergency response following severe flooding caused by prolonged heavy rainfall across several regions in Albania since early January.

The floods have affected Durrës, Lezhë, Fier, Vlorë and Gjirokastër, submerging roads, villages and farmland, and prompting evacuation and rescue operations by local authorities.

The Albanian Armed Forces and Civil Emergency structures are supporting flood management, evacuation efforts and infrastructure response in affected areas.

With river levels remaining high and the risk of further flash flooding, Islamic Relief Albania has been working closely with local municipalities to assess the situation and identify urgent humanitarian needs.

Islamic Relief Albania teams have since visited Durrës, Vlorë, Shkodër and Gjirokastër, and begun providing support to affected families through the distribution of 180 food packs and 180 hygiene kits.

While conditions have stabilised in several areas following a temporary pause in rainfall, Durrës remains critically affected, with many homes and streets still underwater due to drainage system challenges, and Islamic Relief Albania continues to prioritise emergency assistance for affected families in the area.

In a crisis that has stripped millions of their basic rights, Khatmala’s community kitchen proves that humanity survives even when systems collapse.

In Gedaref’s internally displaced persons camps, Khatmala runs a ‘takaaya’ – a community kitchen – where she provides and shares food and drink, that have become lifelines for those who have lost everything.

“I fetch water, get the ice ready, and then people start coming,” she says. “My joy never fades. I just keep talking with people, I don’t like to sit idle.”

In a nation where more than 12 million have been displaced and over 30 million people need humanitarian assistance, Khatmala’s takaaya has become something extraordinary – the difference between life and starvation for people in Sudan.

What happens when every right disappears

The long running conflict in Sudan has created what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Over 80% of healthcare facilities are closed, food production has collapsed and there famine-like conditions being reported from multiple regions.

For women and girls, the conflict has been devastating.

More than 12 million live at risk of gender-based violence. Sexual violence has become a systematic weapon of war with widespread and horrific reports of women being forced into sexual slavery, gang rapes and the assault of children.

Simply being female in Sudan, as UN Women puts it, is “a strong predictor of hunger, violence and death.”

The fundamental rights in the Universal Declaration – life, security, food, shelter, freedom from torture – have been obliterated for millions.

This is the context in which Khatmala serves tea each morning.

A true community kitchen

Takaayas in Sudan represent something profound: when institutions fail, communities become the last line of defence.

“Every Friday, I cook breakfast and sometimes lunch,” Khatmala explains. Camp police help when they can. Neighbours contribute what little they have. “Everyone comes and eats. You have to extend your hand to others.”

Before Islamic Relief’s support, conditions were harsh.

“When it rained, I sat there soaking wet,” she remembers. The organisation brought a tent, sheeting, supplies. “Now I’m covered. Now I can do more.”

The support represented more than materials, it was recognition. Her work matters.

“I can’t ignore a hungry person. If I see a neighbour’s child who hasn’t eaten, I share what I have. That’s just God’s mercy.

“I try to give what I can, so I don’t forget the blessings I receive,” she reflects. “When you eat from what God gives, remember those who have less.” 

When the world looks away

Islamic Relief’s first ever intervention was responding to famine in Sudan in 1984 – Over 4 decades later and we are still here. In the past 2 years alone, Islamic Relief has reached more than 1.2 million people with vital humanitarian aid including food, water, medical support, dignity kits, and support for initiatives like Khatmala’s kitchen.

The gap between need and response is catastrophic, however. Without urgent action, Sudan risks total state collapse, a nightmare with massive regional consequences. Without proper funding and without political will to end the conflict, millions more will be pushed past the brink.

When asked what message she would give to people beyond Sudan, Khatmala says: “I just want to tell people: do good. We don’t need to brag – just say, ‘Alhamdulillah, we helped.’ Even a handful of dirt, if given sincerely, is valuable to God.

“Whatever you can give, we accept with open hearts. We just want your kindness, your good words, your prayers.”

The work that cannot wait

Khatmala’s story offers an urgent reminder: human rights aren’t abstract principles. They are fundamentals. They are the difference between life and death.

This Human Rights Day marks the end of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, we need to celebrate and support community leaders like Khatmala. We need to ensure women’s participation in peace processes and hold perpetrators accountable. Transform pledges into resources that actually reach people.

Crucially we need to view people like Khatmala clearly, not as helpless victims, but as architects of their own survival, deserving partnership and support.

Islamic Relief has been supporting vulnerable communities in Sudan for over 40 years. To support our lifesaving work and help women like Khatmala continue serving their communities, please donate to our International Emergency Appeal today.

Dr Masih Farahimi leaves for work each day fearing arrest simply for being a woman. Yet she continues to show up, knowing that pregnant mothers and newborns depend on her presence. Her story reveals both the crushing weight of gender-based restrictions and the unbreakable spirit of Afghan women refusing to disappear.

“Every day when we leave the house, we despair that we might be arrested for being a woman and not returned back.”

Dr Masih Farahimi speaks these words with quiet intensity. A medical doctor working as a midwife with Islamic Relief’s Hira Project since March 2020, Dr Farahmi embodies a paradox that defines life for countless Afghan women: continuing to serve her community whilst living under restrictions designed to erase her from public life entirely.

As the world marks 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November to 10 December, Dr Masih’s reality demands our attention. One in 3 women around the world experience violence, but for Afghan women, the violence isn’t just physical. It’s systemic, structural, and suffocating.

The daily calculation

Dr Masih works full time in a maternity ward, focusing on antenatal care, postnatal care, and family planning services. Basic healthcare that saves lives. Yet reaching work requires navigating a maze of restrictions that would break most people.

She is forced to travel with a mahram (a male guardian) almost everywhere; There is a constant dress code to adhere to; Training or meetings outside the province are often forbidden.

Dr Masih has to make the same mental calculation each morning: is the risk worth it?

“We don’t have security,” she explains simply. The understatement masks a profound truth. Since August 2021, Afghanistan has implemented increasingly severe restrictions on women.

In December 2024, authorities banned women from studying medicine, nursing, or midwifery, closing some of their last pathways to professional healthcare roles. Earlier that year, a new law formalised existing restrictions and introduced fresh ones, including prohibiting women from speaking aloud in public.

For female health workers like Dr Masih, these restrictions create impossible situations. Nearly 90% of medical staff in earthquake-affected regions are men. When disasters strike, women and girls comprise over half the casualties but face critical barriers accessing care. Male doctors cannot examine them under strict social codes. Female doctors are vanishingly rare and increasingly restricted.

 What keeps her going

“The need of the people, especially women and children, motivates me,” Dr Masih says. “Many of them depend on our presence for basic healthcare and awareness. Knowing that I can make even a small difference gives me strength to keep going.”

“Even then, it’s hard.” She adds.

The mental and emotional toll of working under such conditions is immense. Female-friendly spaces where women could gather and support each other have closed. Dr Masih copes by staying home when mentally exhausted, spending time with other women, sitting with family, and trying to think positively.

“I believe that the situation will eventually change for the better, inshallah,” she says, her faith evident, despite everything.

The ripple effects

The restrictions don’t only harm female health workers. They devastate the entire healthcare system and the communities it serves. Afghanistan now has 1 of the world’s largest workforce gender gaps. Just 1 in 4 women is working or seeking work, compared to nearly 90% of men.

Dr Masih shares an example: “I know a woman who suffers from haemorrhoids but is not allowed to go to the hospital because there is no female doctor or surgeon available. Her husband also refuses to let a male doctor examine her.”

The woman suffers in silence, denied care because of her gender.

It is a story repeated across Afghanistan, where women’s access to healthcare has become increasingly difficult. Fear, mobility restrictions, education bans, and systemic discrimination keep women and girls from getting the care they need.

A different kind of violence

This is gender-based violence. Not always physical, but violence, nonetheless. It is the deliberate erasure of women from education, employment, and public life. The systematic denial of their autonomy, their voice, their right to exist fully in society.

The UN has stated these restrictions may constitute crimes against humanity. Yet women like Dr Masih continue showing up, providing care, refusing to be erased.

Dr Masih’s requests are straightforward: more flexibility around travel restrictions and access to training, safe transportation options for female staff, more community sensitisation and an increase in mental health support.

“These would make a big difference,” she states.

But her deeper hopes go further.

“I hope all these restrictions will be lifted and women will be allowed to make decisions about their own lives. Schools and universities should reopen. We should not be punished further simply because of our gender. I want my rights to be respected as a human being and not to be deprived of my basic freedoms.”

The strength to continue

“I am a very strong woman, alhamdulillah,” Dr Masih says.

This is not bravado. It is survival. It’s the strength of every woman who continues working despite restrictions designed to stop her.

Islamic Relief continues to support healthcare workers like Dr Masih through projects like Hira, providing safe and supportive work environments despite enormous challenges. The organisation tries to create inclusive environments for female staff, ensuring they work with dignity and respect even as the broader context makes this increasingly difficult.

“Despite the current restrictions, I find the Islamic Relief workplace relatively safe and supportive,” she reflects. “My team always ensures we work with dignity and respect.”

In a country where being a woman in public can lead to arrest, where speaking aloud is forbidden, where education and employment are systematically denied, Dr Masih continues to serve. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s safe. But because lives depend on it.

That’s not just resilience. That’s revolutionary hope in action.

As we mark the 16 Days of Activism, Dr Masih’s story reminds us that solidarity requires more than sympathy. It demands action. Afghan women haven’t given up. Neither should the international community.

Islamic Relief stands with women and girls facing violence and discrimination worldwide. During the 16 Days of Activism and every day, we remain committed to supporting the rights, dignity, and wellbeing of all people. Support our work today and donate.

The morning routine begins early for Iman in Grozny, Chechnya. When most teenagers hit snooze on their alarms, 15-year-old Iman is already awake, performing her upper body exercises before logging into her online classes. Confined to a wheelchair due to spinal trauma, Iman has structured her days around what she can control – her education, her determination, and now, her flourishing career as a nail artist.

“The main challenge I face in my daily life is the inability to walk and be self-reliant in the simplest activities that other people can afford without any efforts,” Iman says. “I am greatly obliged to my parents for their patience and love.”

Yet this young woman from Chechnya is rewriting what independence looks like.

A turning point

A friend had shared information about Islamic Relief’s free vocational training programme for people with disabilities through WhatsApp, Iman saw the opportunity and never looked back.

For a family where the sole breadwinner is Iman’s 21-year-old brother Muslim (who works in airport security) and where medical expenses for Iman’s regular rehabilitation courses and operations constantly strain resources, this felt almost destined.

“I like it very much to draw, that’s why we decided that I should take manicure classes,” Iman explains. Her mother Razet called Islamic Relief for details, and soon they were invited to the first lesson. “It was great!” Iman recalls.

From student to business owner

What Islamic Relief provided went beyond the expected. Iman didn’t just acquire manicure and pedicure skills – she received all the equipment and materials needed to open her own studio. Income from Muslim’s salary, Iman’s disability pension, and her mother’s small carer’s allowance are often not enough to cover monthly costs, this support from Islamic Relief helped transform possibility into reality.

“It is a great thing to be able to work and earn something yourself!” Iman says with pride.

The work demands excellence. Building a client base requires not just technical skill but trust, reliability, and the ability to deliver results that keep customers coming back. For someone who must navigate daily life from a wheelchair, each client appointment represents a small victory – over societal assumptions, over logistical challenges, over the limitations others might impose.

Iman’s first income – 6,900 roubles (approximately RM415) – represents far more than its monetary value. It’s proof of capability, evidence of independence, and validation that her worth isn’t defined by her disability.

The power of belief

“Our teacher is a great person, she inspired us so much and welcomed all our efforts,” Iman remembers. “This made us sure we would succeed”

This belief – from her instructor, from her family and supported by Islamic Relief – has been transformative. In a world where people with disabilities face unemployment rates as high as 80% in some countries and assumptions about capability often precede any assessment of actual ability, Iman’s story challenges every limiting narrative.

She studies online in Year 9, managing her education despite regular interruptions for medical treatment. She maintains morning exercise routines. She builds a business. She does all of this whilst relying entirely on others for basic mobility.

“I saw many people who cannot use their legs, but they use their brain and hands to be useful to the society,” Iman reflects.

Building community, not just business

For Iman, the vocational training programme delivered unexpected gifts alongside the practical skills. “I have gained skills and met many good friends! I have received a lot of good memories!” she says.

This social dimension matters profoundly.

“I don’t like it to be alone, I like people and communication,” Iman explains.

The programme created what all good disability inclusion initiatives should: not a separate space for people with disabilities, but an environment where they could learn, grow, and build community together whilst developing skills.

Looking forward with hope

“Insha’Allah, I will continue to work as a nail master, since I like it very much,” Iman says of her future. Her aspirations are to continue doing the work she loves and to maintain the independence she’s worked so hard to build.

She’s practical about improvements too, suggesting that training facilities could benefit from more spacious rooms and stationary ramp entrances – the kind of accessibility features that demonstrate genuine commitment to inclusion.

Her message to Islamic Relief carries the gratitude of someone who understands exactly what was given: not charity, but opportunity. “I would like to thank people in the Islamic Relief who thought of this kind of project. Such attitude gives people with disabilities a chance to become more skilled and make their dreams come true!”

 What real support looks like

As the world marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Iman’s story reminds us that leadership comes in many forms.

Sometimes it looks like a 15-year-old girl in Grozny, building a business from a wheelchair, proving that determination and opportunity can overcome obstacles that once seemed insurmountable.

Her hands may create beautiful nails, but her story paints an even more beautiful picture – of resilience, of family support, of organisational commitment, and of a young woman refusing to let disability define the boundaries of her life.

This International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Islamic Relief Worldwide celebrates individuals like Iman who lead through their courage, determination, and refusal to accept limitations. Their leadership lights the path towards a truly inclusive and sustainable future for all. Support our work and help us provide opportunities for more people like Iman, donate today.

The scorching sun beats down on Camp-4 in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, home to more than 35,000 Rohingya refugees who fled unspeakable violence in Myanmar. Among them is 36-year-old Nasima, whose story reveals the particular vulnerabilities women face in humanitarian crises.

As we mark 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we share the story of Nasima, a Rohingya refugee whose journey from persecution to resilience reminds us why safe shelter is a fundamental right for all women and girls.

When home becomes a memory

In December 2017, Nasima’s world collapsed. The Myanmar army’s brutal campaign against the Rohingya forced her family to make an impossible choice: stay and face persecution, or flee into the unknown. Like nearly 1 million others, Nasima chose survival, but it came at a devastating cost.

During their desperate escape, Myanmar soldiers opened fire on Nasima’s family. The bullets found their mark, leaving her with severe injuries that would alter the course of her life. The physical wounds were profound, but the invisible scars ran deeper still. The trauma shattered not only her body but her sense of safety in the world.

Today, Nasima lives with her 6-year-old daughter Yasmin in a refugee camp where nearly 8,000 families grapple with the daily struggle for survival. With no source of income and limited mobility due to her injuries, Nasima embodies the vulnerabilities that women in humanitarian settings face – vulnerabilities that the 16 Days of Activism campaign seeks to address.

The weight of unsafe shelter

For 2 years, Nasima and Yasmin were forced to live in a deteriorating bamboo shelter. The structure, ravaged by weather and termites, offered little more than a symbolic roof over their heads. Damaged tarpaulins provided scant protection against the region’s punishing sun and monsoon rains. The flimsy fencing was no barrier at all.

“I used to live in a small bamboo shelter, and I was always sceptical about its durability,” Nasima recalls. “Whenever there was a strong wind, I feared that the shelter might not withstand it.”

This constant state of fear is something women in crisis settings know well. When your home cannot protect you from the elements, you are vulnerable to everything. For women like Nasima – living with physical disabilities and mental trauma – an unstable shelter exacerbates the daily challenges of camp life and increases exposure to gender-based violence.

The dignity of safe shelter

Hope arrived in January 2023 when Islamic Relief launched the Integrated WASH and Shelter Assistance Project (InSAP) in Camp-4. Through careful assessment, Islamic Relief identified the families most in need – those whose shelters had become dangerous rather than protective. Nasima qualified for the programme, receiving more than just materials.

Islamic Relief built a new shelter for Nasima. Strong bamboo replaced rotting posts. Secure tarpaulins replaced tattered sheets. A proper structure replaced a precarious assemblage. For the first time since fleeing Myanmar, Nasima and Yasmin had a home that could protect them.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support from Islamic Relief Bangladesh,” Nasima says, her voice carrying relief. “This new shelter provides a sense of security and comfort we haven’t experienced in years. It’s a life-changing intervention that we won’t forget.”

Islamic Relief also provided mosquito nets to protect against disease, Qurbani meat during celebrations, winter clothes against the cold, and Ramadan food parcels. But as this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign reminds us, women’s safety requires sustained investment and commitment.

The transformative power of aid

As we observe the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Nasima’s journey from a bullet-riddled escape to a safe shelter reminds us of our collective responsibility. Nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide experiences violence in their lifetime. In humanitarian emergencies, these risks intensify.

Safe shelter is both practical intervention and powerful statement: every woman and girl deserves protection, dignity, and the chance to live without fear. Nasima’s resilience shows us what becomes possible when humanitarian assistance recognises the specific vulnerabilities women face and responds with comprehensive, compassionate support.

Shelter to Nasima and Yasmin represent more than walls and a roof, it symbolises a future where safety for women is not a luxury, but a fundamental right.

This 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Islamic Relief Worldwide stands with women and girls facing violence, displacement, and insecurity worldwide. Together, we can build a future where every woman has access to safety, dignity, and hope. Donate now to help women and girls like Nasima and Yasmin.

Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault and violence that some may find disturbing.

In Kapoeta North County, South Sudan, Nanyait carries a story that thousands of women know too well – a story of violence sanctioned by culture, trauma compounded by rejection, and survival that demands more courage than most will ever need.

At 34, Nanyait is rebuilding her life a small step at a time. But the journey to where she stands today, as an independent businesswoman and mother, required surviving what no woman should ever endure.

When culture condones violence

Married at just 14 years old, Nanyait spent decades in a marriage marked by abuse and hard labour. As she grew older, her husband grew tired of her. What happened next reveals the brutal reality of harmful practices that masquerade as tradition.

Her husband arranged for 2 men to sexually assault her – a cruel practice in some Toposa communities where older wives are sometimes given to other men. In Nanyait’s case, it wasn’t consensual. It was orchestrated violence.

When Nanyait discovered she was pregnant as a result of the assault, her husband’s response was to cast her out completely – abandoning her while pregnant and denying her access to their 3 children. When she fled, the children followed her, trying to stay with their mother, but her husband threatened her and forced her to stay away from them.

She returned to her family’s home with nothing, carrying not just a child but the weight of a community’s judgment.

“I had lost hope,” Nanyait recalls. “At my age, returning to my family house was really shameful, but I had nowhere to go.

“Worst was my husband refusing me to have access to my kids. I’m even talking to you because you’re not one of the community members. I have become a laughingstock. People call me names.”

In South Sudan’s patriarchal communities and particularly among pastoral groups in Kapoeta, women have no voice. Deep-rooted beliefs that view women as property and sources of wealth fuel forced and early marriages. When violence occurs, women are blamed. When they speak out, they face being cast out.

A space to heal and a chance to rebuild

A neighbour’s referral changed everything. At Islamic Relief South Sudan’s Women and Girls Friendly Space, Nanyait found what her own community had denied her: safety, dignity and support.

The project’s staff provided crucial counselling and connected her with antenatal services. During routine testing, Nanyait discovered she was HIV-positive, another devastating blow, but this time she wasn’t alone. She received ongoing counselling and was enrolled in skills-building classes.

“To everyone I was a laughingstock, but Islamic Relief and this place is the only place I feel comfortable in because we are many women and we share our stories,” Nanyait explains.

“We cry together and laugh together. When I’m here I feel so happy, so I don’t miss any classes.”

At the centre, Nanyait developed practical skills, like knitting bedsheets and creating beadwork. More importantly, she found her voice again. She started to sell her handmade items, then used the income to open a small shop selling cooking oil, salt, onions and other essentials. Today, she supports herself and her young child independently.

Why this work matters more than ever

Nanyait’s story is sadly not unique. Across South Sudan, harmful cultural practices continue to devastate women’s lives. Gender-based violence thrives in communities where men hold absolute power and women are systematically marginalised in decision-making and denied access to resources.

Through the PROGRESS II project, Islamic Relief South Sudan has reached 13,500 individuals across Kapoeta North County and Kapoeta East County communities ravaged by successive droughts and conflicts. The project has provided gender-based violence awareness to more than 1,970 women, and case management services to 150 survivors.

But awareness alone isn’t enough. Real change requires challenging social norms, working with faith and community leaders, and advocating alongside government partners to dismantle the structures that enable violence against women.

“I thank Islamic Relief for loving us and making us feel human again when our own people left us,” Nanyait says.

Women subjected to violence don’t need pity – they need safe spaces, practical support, economic empowerment and communities brave enough to name harmful practices for what they are.

As we mark the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, Nanyait’s transformation from victim to survivor to independent businesswoman reminds us that change is urgent but possible. When women are given the tools, support and space to rebuild their lives, they don’t just survive – they reclaim their power.

Every woman deserves what Nanyait found: a place where her voice matters, her trauma is acknowledged, and her future belongs to her alone.

Islamic Relief’s gender justice work addresses the root causes of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices that are often wrongly attributed to faith. We work in partnership with communities, faith leaders and local authorities to create lasting change. To support our life-saving programmes by donating today.

DAVAO ORIENTAL, 10 October 2025 — A powerful magnitude 7.4 tectonic earthquake struck offshore Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m. (PHT) on Friday, sending thousands of residents fleeing from schools, malls, offices, and homes. The quake, initially recorded as magnitude 7.6, had its epicenter in Manay, Davao Oriental, at a depth of 58 kilometers. Shaking was felt across Mindanao and as far as Indonesia and Palau. The incident comes just weeks after a 6.9-magnitude quake in Cebu killed 74 people and displaced thousands.

Authorities reported widespread panic as the ground shook violently. Video footage from markets in Davao showed people screaming and taking cover, while patients were evacuated from hospitals for safety. The Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) confirmed that 347 individuals fainted or sustained minor injuries, while several students were hospitalized due to dizziness and panic. Reports also confirmed at least three fatalities, one in Davao City, two in Davao Oriental and a man killed in a landslide, with others possibly trapped or injured.

More than 266 aftershocks, including strong 5.9-, 5.8-, and 5.6-magnitude tremors, have been recorded since the main quake. Infrastructure damage has been reported across Davao Oriental and nearby provinces, including cracked bridges, roads, schools, and workplaces. Landslides were also observed in Davao de Oro, and debris blocked major roads from Caraga to Mati City. Davao City and neighboring provinces suspended work and classes to allow rapid damage assessments.

Islamic Relief Philippines is closely monitoring the situation in Davao Oriental and surrounding areas. Given the broad geographic spread of the shaking from Davao Oriental to parts of Eastern Visayas, secondary displacement, service interruptions, and strain on local protection systems may follow, especially in communities with limited humanitarian support.

Over a month since deadly earthquakes devastated villages in eastern Afghanistan, thousands of survivors are still homeless and sleeping out in the open without proper shelter as the bitterly cold winter approaches, Islamic Relief is warning.

Latest assessments show that 90% of survivors in rural Kunar province are still without proper shelter, leaving them extremely vulnerable as temperatures plummet. Harsh winters in the mountainous region bring heavy snow and ice and temperatures as low as minus-20 degrees Celsius (-4 °F).

The deadly earthquake, which struck just before midnight on 31 August, killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed over 6,300 homes. But not enough aid has yet arrived, and the response is critically short of funds. 

Earthquake survivor Wahidullah Ehsas is one of many still sleeping outside in Dewagal valley in Kunar province. He told Islamic Relief:

“My family and I are living in very difficult conditions. Since our house was damaged, we are staying outside under temporary shelters with limited food, water, and blankets. The nights are cold, aftershocks continue, and our children and elderly are suffering the most. While some households have received emergency tents, a significant number of people remain without proper shelter.

“We fear for our survival in the coming winter because, due to the continuous earthquakes, our homes are no longer safe or suitable to live in. The weather is getting colder and the nights are already chilly. In the coming months, the temperature will drop further, especially in these mountainous areas, making it very hard for families staying outside without proper shelter, blankets, or heating.”

Ibrahim Alhomadi, head of programmes at Islamic Relief Afghanistan, said:

“As winter approaches, survivors are at extreme risk of hypothermia and illness if they can’t get shelter soon. Families survived the earthquake but now risk dying from the cold winter.

“It’s appalling that thousands of people are still without proper shelter almost a month after the earthquake, but the humanitarian response is critically underfunded. Global attention fades away after a few days but the needs remain huge as these families have lost everything – their homes, relatives, livelihoods, and around 95% of them lost their food stocks. The situation for earthquake-affected families is increasingly dire. Many survivors are still living in temporary shelters, such as tents and tarpaulins, which offer minimal protection against the harsh winter conditions. 

“We’ve given some families emergency tents, but this is not sustainable for winter – we need to get them into proper shelters as soon as possible.”

Three quarters of the way through the year, the 2025 UN-led Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan is still less than 30% funded, and the UN has appealed for an additional $139 million to support earthquake survivors. 

Immediately after the earthquake Islamic Relief deployed an emergency health team and ambulance to help survivors. The charity has also distributed more than 200 tents, 950 hygiene kits, and installed latrines 

Notes

*The data was collected by OCHA as part of an interagency needs assessment.

PAKISTAN, September 9 – Since late June 2025, Pakistan has been facing above-normal monsoon rains which triggered widespread flooding, flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh and Islamabad.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 829 people have lost their lives, 1,116 have been injured and tens of thousands of houses have been destroyed or damaged.

The situation remains most critical in Punjab where extreme flooding of the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers has affected nearly two million people and displaced around 500,000.

Over 2,200 villages have been inundated, while large-scale evacuations and the establishment of more than 500 relief camps are ongoing.

Islamic Relief in Pakistan has been on the ground since the onset of the disaster, mobilising emergency response teams in the worst-hit provinces.

In Punjab, Islamic Relief is operating relief activities in Naroval, Jhang, Muzaffargarh, Multan and Rajanpur including managing a camp in Muzaffargarh for 200 household where families receive hot meals and safe drinking water daily.

In KP, which has recorded the highest human toll with 484 deaths, Islamic Relief teams continue to deliver food and non-food supplies to affected mountains districts such as Buner, Shangla and Swat despite damaged roads and difficult access.

Meanwhile in Sindh, teams are on high alert as floodwaters advance towards the province, working closely with local authorities to prepare for rapid response.

To date, Islamic Relief has reached over 22,000 people with life-saving assistance. Initial assessments indicate unprecedented levels of destruction and Islamic Relief plans to scale up its response to reach one million families (around 7 million people) in the coming months.

Over the next 12-18 months, Islamic Relief will support communities not only with urgent relief but also with long-term recovery, including restoring livelihoods, repairing shelters and strengthening resilience.