28 September 2001

Fact Sheet: USAID's Emergency Report on Afghanistan

International agencies report a high risk of starvation for a large proportion of the Afghan population, at the same time food aid to the region is increased. The United States contribution to the mounting humanitarian disaster approaches $184 million, according to a September 28 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) fact sheet, which surveys how a variety of international and U.S. agencies are attempting to relieve the suffering.

Twenty years of war and civil strife and three years of drought have created this disaster, with refugees and internally displaced persons numbering in the millions, according to USAID.

USAID has previously reported that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has worsened considerably over the last month. Most international relief agencies have withdrawn their staffs from Afghanistan at the same time the Taliban came under pressure to turn over Osama bin Laden for his suspected role in the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The following terms are used in the text:

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

Background

• UNHCR reported September 27 that small groups of Afghans, numbering in the hundreds, are crossing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border at little-used points and proceeding to towns and old Afghan refugee settlements. -- UNHCR reported September 25 that up to 20,000 Afghans are waiting on the Afghan side of the Chaman border crossing near Quetta, Baluchistan. The Pakistan border remains officially closed. In addition to up to 20,000 waiting to cross at Chaman, there are also unspecified numbers massing at Torkham, near Peshawar, according to UNOCHA. -- There are no new reports of Afghans crossing into Iran.

• To date, some 15,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in Pakistan via the Chaman border crossing, according to UNHCR. Of these, 10,000 are residing with host families in Quetta, while 5,000 are camped near the border.

Relief and Contingency Efforts -- Regional

• On September 27, UNOCHA issued a Donor Alert calling for $584,035,632 in funding for humanitarian assistance and protection programs for up to 7.5 million Afghans. -- UNHCR reported September 27 that its worst-case contingency planning scenario involves a total of 1.5 million Afghan refugees, including up to 1,000,000 to Pakistan, 400,000 to Iran, 50,000 to Turkmenistan, 50,000 to Tajikistan, and 10,000 to Uzbekistan. UNHCR has increased its anticipated funding needs to $268 million (included in the Donor Alert), which includes $44 million for transport and logistics, $27 million for water, and $10 million each for health and sanitation needs. -- WFP is airlifting 265 MT of high energy biscuits, enough to feed nearly a million people for one day, to Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan. A delivery of 200 MT of biscuits will arrive in Peshawar on September 28, 100 MT of which will be transported by truck to Quetta. On September 29, 50 MT of biscuits will be delivered to Mashad in northeast Iran, followed by 15 MT to Ashgabat in southern Turkmenistan on September 30.

Current Situation -- Afghanistan

• On September 28, FAO reiterated earlier warnings that large proportions of the Afghan population are facing starvation. According to FAO, Afghanistan's 2001-2002 marketing year cereal import requirements are expected to rise to an unprecedented level of about 2.2 million MT, which would include 1.4 million MT in food aid needs. -- WFP reported September 27 that contrary to earlier reports, although Taliban officials have seized WFP's office and communications equipment in Kandahar, local relief workers are still in control of WFP's food stocks. -- WFP reported September 27 that market food supplies remain normal in Herat, and food aid to more than 200,000 IDPs continues. Market food supplies and prices remain unchanged in Jalalabad as well.

Relief and Contingency Efforts -- Afghanistan

• IMC and its local partner, Ibn Sina, continue to provide assistance in 31 facilities as well as birthing centers. In addition, 28 immunization teams are operating in east, southeast, central, and southwest Afganistan. IMC/Ibn Sina teams are operating in Herat, Helmand, Kandahar, Pakita, Paktia, Ghazni, Wardak, Bamiyan, Parvan, Kabul, Laghman, and Nangarhar. -- In Kabul, WFP is providing 60,000 kilos of wheat flour to 60,000 families dependent on WFP's bakeries program. According to WFP, this should be sufficient through the end of October. -- According to WFP, assistance is also continuing in northern Afghanistan, in partnership with IRC, ACTED, and SC/US, as well as the Northern Alliance-held town of Faisabad and the Panjshir Valley.

Current Situation -- Pakistan

• The Government of Pakistan held nationwide rallies during a "day of solidarity" on September 27. The rallies were intended to counter anti-American demonstrations and encourage popular backing for Pakistan's support of U.S. action in Afghanistan. -- Pakistani police detained an unspecified number of suspected associates of Osama bin Laden, according to Reuters, as part of an intensive manhunt ordered by the GOP for Islamic militants. -- Pakistan is sending another official delegation to convince the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden to U.S. authorities. A previous high-level delegation delivered a letter to Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel from President Musharraf that urged Taliban authorities to surrender bin Laden or face U.S. military action.

Relief and Contingency Efforts -- Pakistan

• Pakistan's National Institute of Health (NIH) warned of the potential for an increase in infectious diseases as Afghan refugees cross and congregate on the border with Afghanistan. According to NIH, a disease early-warning system has been activated in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan. Hospitals in NWFP are making emergency preparations, although Pakistan's Ministry of Health has not put hospitals on high alert. -- UNHCR's first airlift of 9,800 plastic sheets is scheduled to arrive in Quetta on the morning of September 29. A second flight from the UNHCR warehouses in Copenhagen will deliver other needed relief supplies this weekend. UNHCR positioned 2,000 tents, 6,000 quilts, 2,000 kitchen sets and 4,000 buckets in Quetta earlier this week. -- UNHCR has identified five sites in Baluchistan for arriving refugees. Two of the sites, Dara camp and Rogani, were inspected and approved by UNHCR, NGOs and GOP officials on September 26. The two sites can accommodate 10,000 refugees and have adequate water supplies. -- According to UNHCR, there are reports that Pakistani officials are allowing some vulnerable refugees to cross into Pakistan at Chaman.

Relief and Contingency Efforts -- Iran

• According to an IRIN report, a UNHCR official stated that the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the Government of Iran, and UNHCR are prepared to assist up to 400,000 Afghan refugees along the border. UNHCR has stockpiled relief items, including 500 eight-person tents, plastic sheeting, and blankets, in the cities of Torbat-e Jam, Taybad, Khaf, Qaen, Birjand, and Nehvandan.

U.S. Government Funding

• On September 22, 2000, Former Assistant Secretary Karl F. Inderfurth re-declared a complex humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan for FY 2001. In addition, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam issued a disaster declaration for Afghan refugees in Pakistan on February 2, 2001. To date, FY 2001 USG humanitarian assistance provided by USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP, USDA, the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM), the joint Department of State/Department of Defense Demining Program, the Department of State's Bureau International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) totals $183,648,477, including both assistance inside Afghanistan and assistance to Afghan refugees in neighboring countries. -- Despite the pullout of international humanitarian personnel from Afghanistan, the USG remains committed to assisting vulnerable Afghans.

Total USAID/OFDA FY 2001--$18,934,362

Total USAID/FFP FY 2001--$31,200,000

Total USAID/DG FY 2001--$450,000

Total USDA FY 2001--$99,800,000

Total State/PRM FY 2001 --$28,344,590

Total State/HDP FY 2001 --$2,800,000

Total State/INL FY 2001-- $1,500,000

Total CDC FY 2001 --$569,525

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2001 $183,648,477

Note: details of USG funding listed above are available in USAID/OFDA Afghanistan Situation Reports.