What I saw in a week on the front line of Afghanistan’s hunger crisis

May 15 and 16, 2026 It is the weekend, a small moment to rest, although there is still a lot of work waiting for me. A week in the field does not mean that work in Kabul stops. I try to catch up on my emails and have a planned online interview for an international staff position – since in Europe, Friday is a normal working day. I also review parts of new proposals for donors and our financial planning. On Saturday, however, I take a short break. Together with the base management team in Helmand, we visit a historical site called Qala-e-Bost, believed to have been built around 3,000 years ago. It is a rare moment to step away from work, followed by lunch with the team. May 17, 2026 Sunday morning, the first working day of the week, we visit Basrhan Sub Health Centre, run by one of our local partners. As a nurse and former nurse trainer, I feel very much in my element in these health centres. It allows me to engage easily with the team and discuss their work. I speak with the outreach officer and the vaccinator. They explain that this facility supports 18 outreach locations, each visited at least once a month. They provide vaccinations, raise awareness, and connect communities to the health centre. These visits often take place in simple settings, like mosques. Immunisation is now well accepted. In the beginning, there was some resistance, but trust has grown over time. Every child is tracked, and if a child misses a vaccination, community health volunteers follow up at home. For extra polio vaccinations, this is carefully recorded by marking a finger of the child – helping ensure that no child is missed. The goal is clear: a polio-free Afghanistan. I also speak with a mother. She is wearing a burka, so I cannot see her face. She tells me she is 22 years old and holds her 12-month-old son on her lap. She came because he has a fever, but I see a healthy child – something that stands out after my time in the TFU. She brings her child regularly for follow-up and growth monitoring and the child has never been in a treatment program for malnutrition. She speaks positively about the services. “We are lucky,” she says. “The staff treat us well, and we have access to care in our community.”