Current Situation for Believers in Afghanistan
This month brings little relief for the people of Afghanistan. Severe drought, earthquakes, and flash floods, which caused numerous deaths this year, continue to have an impact on families displaced across the gulf region. The Taliban’s ever-tightening grip on society, lack of access to healthcare and the prospect of a freezing winter ahead make the coming months even harder for the persecuted church. Yet still, we see local partners working to strengthen the body of Christ in Afghanistan.
Our persecuted brothers and sisters need our prayers and support. Pray especially for their health and well-being. Pray that they will be able to stand strong and hold on to their faith even as they face hardships. Pray for local partners who are serving on the ground.
Climate change and food insecurity
The compounding effects of natural disasters and the intensifying humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan have brought the lives of Afghan people to a virtual standstill. According to the United Nations, approximately, 18.9 million Afghan people, including children, are suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity.
With livelihoods gone, many are looking for ways to survive the months ahead. There is a deep concern that with a cold winter approaching, the well-being of many is in question.
Pray that God will provide our brothers and sisters with enough to eat and the means to keep themselves and their families warm. Pray for those who need shelter and that through the work of partners, we will be able to encourage them and show them God’s love.
Pray for the health and well-being of women and children
In the two decades leading up to the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had been making significant progress in terms of health care and had been on track to expand the scale of health coverage across the nation. The withdrawal of foreign funding and loss of access to essential materials, as a result of the humanitarian crisis, have proven to be a fatal blow to the healthcare system. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization estimated that over 24.4 million Afghans will need humanitarian health aid in 2022.
Currently, a shortage of resources and staff has resulted in many medical centres being closed across the country. Pregnant women and children are dying during childbirth due to a lack of functioning hospitals and a scarcity of midwives and other vital medical services. Closed centres mean that children will be deprived of routine immunizations, leaving them susceptible to disease.
People in the country are directing their efforts to bridge this gap in access to health care. Some of them, even at the risk of being kidnapped and harassed, are courageously travelling long distances carrying medications and other essential supplies.
Pray that partners and other humanitarian medical aid workers will be able to safely reach rural villages where pregnant women, the elderly, and children are desperately in need of attention.
Pray for displaced and separated families
It was estimated that flash floods have displaced over 8000 families. Many have also been separated during their attempts to leave Afghanistan. With no information on the whereabouts of their husbands, some women are left alone to care and provide for their families. With a regime known for its human rights violations in power, women are very vulnerable right now.
In this harsh reality, some families have even resorted to sending their children to earn money by doing menial jobs in unsafe conditions. According to a survey by Save the Children, more than 1 million children are already engaged in child labour.
We are continuously assessing developments and looking for ways to help these families. While local partners are working on the ground, let us cover this situation in prayer. Pray that God will continue to be with displaced Afghans. Pray that God will reunite separated families and put a stop to children leaving their education behind to become breadwinners.
Pray for our Christian brothers and sisters
Our Christian brothers and sisters encounter faith-based persecution daily. The economic and humanitarian crises have only added to their suffering. Believers in Afghanistan live in constant fear of being identified as Christians. Under the extremist interpretations of Islamic text by the Taliban, conversion from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. Taliban refuses to acknowledge the existence of a Christian community within the country. According to a Taliban spokesperson, “There are no Christians in Afghanistan. A Christian minority has never been known or registered here.”
Let us uphold the Afghan Christian community in prayer. As they practice their faith in secret, please pray that God will protect and strengthen them. Pray that God will, in the words of our founder, ‘make seeing eyes blind’ for those who are at risk of unjustly being picked up and tortured and forced to embrace an extremist ideology.
Prayer points
- Please pray for the people of Afghanistan as they head into a very cold winter. Pray that God will provide for our brothers and sisters.
- Please pray that God will bring this nation out of this humanitarian crisis. Pray also that God will pave the way for good leadership to bring this country out of economic instability.
- Pregnant women are in a vulnerable state as they have limited access to midwives and essential medications. Pray that God will guide them to the right places at the right time to find proper care.
- Pray that God will continue to be with families that have been displaced by the floods. Pray also for separated families, that God will provide for their needs and open doors for these families to be reunited with their loved ones.
- Pray for a change in Afghanistan that will put a stop to child labour.
- Pray for the courageous people who are serving among the Afghan people.
- Pray for the safety of our Christian brothers and sisters who are enduring hard circumstances and yet firmly holding onto their faith. Pray that God will strengthen them and increase their numbers despite the hindrances against them.
- Pray for the work that local partners are doing. Pray they will be equipped to reach out with God’s love to more people.
