Afghanistan earthquake victims face struggles getting aid

Getting donations to Afghanistan earthquake victims will be far more difficult compared with other disasters due to sanctions against the country’s Taliban government and its troubled relationship with Western nations, experts say.

International groups that maintained operations in the country following the collapse of its government last year have rushed to eastern Afghanistan to coordinate aid in the region. The country’s state-run news agency reported that Wednesday’s 6.1-magnitude quake killed at least 1,000 and injured at least 1,500 more.

Already, the humanitarian response – which typically surges in the first 72 hours following an earthquake – has lagged in both size and speed due to the lack of pre-positioned supplies and the level of hunger and poverty that already exist in Afghanistan. Heavy rains and winds have also hampered rescue efforts.

“The challenge in Afghanistan is that it’s not just one thing,” said Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. “It’s layer upon layer of different issues that impact you and your response and can vary according to what population you’re serving and what part of the country you’re working in.”

Many governments and philanthropic donors will not give funds directly to the Taliban-run government. Those sending aid to the country are hampered by the lack of regular flights into Kabul, the nation's capital, as well as customs delays once donations land there. Humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief says its shipment of 1 million doses of donated prenatal vitamins is still being held by customs weeks after it arrived in the country.

To show that aid for earthquake victims is welcome, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzadah, who almost never appears in public, asked the...