A 61-year-old resident of Helmand, Haji Ainuddin, lost both of his legs five years ago in a landmine explosion in his village. He is now receiving prosthetic legs at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Physical Rehabilitation Center in Lashkargah, the provincial capital.
He says he is happy with the prosthetic limbs and believes they will reduce many of his difficulties.
Ainuddin said:
“When I was healthy, I worked as a shopkeeper, but after the incident I became unable to move properly. Now that the Red Cross has provided me with prosthetic legs, I can go to the mosque and other places.”
At the ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Center, where prosthetic limbs are produced for disabled people, many patients say their hopes for life have been revived.
People with disabilities expressed satisfaction with these services and said that the existence of such centers is a major necessity in the country.
A disabled patient, Gulab Shah, said:
“I was injured in a traffic accident and one of my legs was broken. Then I came here and they made support molds for my leg, and now I am recovering.”
Another patient, Mohammad Saber, said:
“I was an eight-year-old child when a landmine exploded on me and both of my legs were amputated.”
Another disabled man, Juma Khan, said:
“We ask the government to clear unexploded ordnance and landmines from villages and rural areas.”
According to officials at the ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Center in Helmand, during the year 2025 they provided services in various sectors to more than 19,000 patients from the southern zone and several other provinces, 40 percent of whom were women and children.
They added that last year alone, 436 disabled people in Helmand received prosthetic limbs, while more than 1,600 others received supportive mobility devices.
The head of the Physical Rehabilitation Center in Helmand, Abdul Wahid Naeemi, said:
“About 40 percent of these patients are children and women. Around 45 percent are people with disabilities who lost or damaged body parts in explosions and accidents.”
At the same time, Red Cross officials in Helmand said that in addition to treating disabled individuals, they have also implemented various projects to improve people’s lives in the province.
ICRC official in Helmand, Abdul Baqi Hanifi, said:
“The International Committee of the Red Cross does not only work in physical rehabilitation, but also in prisons and detainee affairs, emergency healthcare services, cleaning canals and karezes, helping separated families reconnect, and supporting returning families in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent.”
Besides providing treatment services, the Red Cross center in Helmand has also built a basketball gymnasium for people with disabilities. According to the participants, it has created a positive recreational environment for them.
