Solar-powered water systems bring safe water closer to more than 39,000 children and their families in Afghanistan

Solar-powered water systems built with funding from the Republic of Korea are now bringing safe water closer to more than 39,000 children and their families in Afghanistan, UNICEF Afghanistan said on 22 October. The project covers some of the country's most climate-vulnerable communities, including in Ghor province.

Nineteen boreholes and solar pumps

The work includes 19 boreholes, solar-powered pumping systems, water reservoirs and distribution networks, along with new and repaired pipes, household connections and water quality testing. Schools are among the places served.

In Jonobe Badrah village in Ghor, a solar-powered borehole now pumps water into an 80,000-liter storage tank above the village, so families no longer walk for hours to fetch water, UNICEF said.

“Children in Afghanistan are already living on the frontlines of the climate crisis.” — Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan

A quarter of households rely on unsafe water

The need is wide. In 2025, 25% of Afghan households relied on unimproved water sources, and 46% named access to safe drinking water as their top concern, a sharp increase from the year before, according to UNICEF's 2026 humanitarian appeal. The appeal puts the number of people in need of water, sanitation and hygiene services in 2026 at 15.9 million.

Against that, 39,000 children and their families is a small share. Oyewale said access to safe water is one of the most urgent ways to protect children's “health, dignity and future.”

What the release does not say

UNICEF did not give the size of Korea's funding, the number of schools served or the full list of provinces, and it did not say who will maintain the systems over time. Other ways communities are getting safe water are collected under clean water.