World Day for War Orphans

World Day for War Orphans is celebrated on January 6 every year to raise awareness about children orphaned by the war. The goal of the day is to ensure that the struggles of war orphans are addressed and highlight the emotional, social, and physical challenges that children face as they grow up.

Evidence is clear that millions of children have become orphans; the vast majority of orphans are living with surviving grandparents or other family members. Most of orphans are over 5 years old (estimated 95%). Orphans have relatively fewer numbers in developed countries. However, in places where war and epidemics have been experienced, their numbers are significantly higher.

According to UNICEF, estimates of the total number of orphans increased from 1990-2001. However, since 2001, estimates of the total number of orphans have declined steadily - at a rate of just 0.7% per year during this period.

1990: 146 million

1995: 151 million

2000: 155 million

2005: 153 million

2010: 146 million

2015: 140 million

Children are often abandoned, so World Day for War Orphans is held annually to commemorate these children and reminds of the responsibility of working hard to reduce the shadow of war so that no one can orphaned on the motherland.

Here is a typical story about children in conflict zones.

Killed, orphaned, sold: The Afghan war damages children

Afghanistan's 17-year war has hit children the hardest. During the first nine months of 2020, nearly 1,900 children were killed or disabled, according to a United Nations report on the expense of civilians during the Afghan War starting in October 2001.

An Afghan man sold his forty-day-old baby to a neighbor. "I sold it for 70,000 afghanis ($ 895) so my other kids wouldn't die of starvation," said Mohammad Khan, the father of seven children.

In the war-ravaged country, aid workers are reporting that more and more children are orphaned or forced to work on the streets.

Zabiullah Mujahed, 14 years old, used to polish shoes on the streets of Kabul to earn up to 100 Afghanistan ($ 1.28) a day. This money is crucial to supporting himself, his mother and six siblings after his father was killed in a Taliban suicide attack years ago.