Save the Children: Explosives Kill or Injure Nearly One Child Daily in Afghanistan

Save the Children says nearly one child every day is being killed or injured by explosive remnants of war in Afghanistan, warning that landmines and other unexploded ordnance continue to pose a major threat to children across the country. The group said 338 children were killed, injured or permanently disabled between January 2025 and January 2026.

According to the organization, children accounted for almost 70 percent of all explosive-related casualties recorded during that period. It added that Afghanistan continues to have the highest number of child casualties from explosive remnants globally, with decades of war leaving dangerous materials scattered across communities, fields and grazing land.

Save the Children said more than 2.7 million people in Afghanistan live within one kilometre of explosive contamination, while nearly 5,000 hazardous sites remain uncleared. Many of these contaminated areas are located in pastures and open land, where children often play and where nomadic and rural families depend on livestock for survival.

The group said these dangers are especially severe for Kuchi and other nomadic communities, who travel long distances each year in search of water and grazing land and often have limited access to healthcare, education and protection services. To reduce the risks, Save the Children said it has launched mobile awareness programs to teach children in remote areas how to recognize and avoid explosive hazards.

Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily contaminated countries in the world from decades of conflict, with landmines, unexploded bombs and abandoned ammunition still threatening civilians long after active fighting has subsided.

Aid agencies and demining groups have repeatedly warned that funding shortages are slowing clearance efforts, even as displaced families, returnees and children continue to move through unsafe areas every day.

Save the Children said the scale of the threat shows that explosive remnants are not just a legacy of war, but a continuing emergency that is taking a devastating toll on Afghan children.

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