01 November 2001

USAID Cites Continued Security Problems in Afghanistan

Security problems inside Afghanistan continue to be a major concern of international aid agencies with looting and armed occupation of their offices increasingly common, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says.

Nevertheless, daily food aid transportation into Afghanistan has been steadily increasing with a total of 27,311 metric tons delivered to Afghanistan since September 11, according to a November 1 USAID fact sheet.

Delivery of relief commodities continued in western and northern Afghanistan with 13,000 blankets expected to arrive in Heart. Three thousand quilts that had escaped looting in Mazar-e-Sharif were to be delivered to internally displaced persons camps in Kunduz.

Population movements towards Afghanistan's borders continued while Taliban forces reportedly engaged in forced recruitment and efforts to prevent people from fleeing the country. Despite increased numbers of refugees in Pakistan, these numbers fell short of the 1.5 million projected by contingency planners.

However, Afghans arriving at refugee camps in Pakistan are reporting cases of severe malnutrition and dysentery, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Following is USAIDs November 1 latest fact sheet:

Background

Two decades of war in Afghanistan, including a decade-long Soviet occupation and ensuing civil strife, have left Afghanistan impoverished and mired in an extended humanitarian crisis. Government infrastructure, including the ability to deliver the most basic health, education, and other social services, has collapsed. Significant resources are directed to the war effort. Severe restrictions by the Taliban, including a restriction on women working outside the home, have added to the impact of poverty, particularly on the many households lacking able-bodied adult men. The Taliban controls about 90 percent of Afghanistan's territory.

Humanitarian prospects worsened sharply in Afghanistan in September 2001 due to developments both inside and outside the country. Osama bin Laden, who resides in Afghanistan under Taliban protection, is the leading suspect in the September 11 terrorist attack against the United States. Fears of a U.S. reprisal triggered a population exodus from major Afghan cities, both towards other points in Afghanistan and towards the country's borders. The beginning of U.S. air strikes on October 7 caused additional movement. International staff of all relief agencies withdrew after September

Afghanistan Numbers Affected at a Glance

Total population (CIA Factbook). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26,813,057

Refugees Since September 11, 2001 (UNHCR)

Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,000 - 110,000

Iran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unknown

Refugees Since September 2000 (UNHCR)

Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152,000

Old Caseload Refugees (UNHCR)

Iran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500,000

Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000,000

Internally Displaced (U.N.)

Since September 11, 2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,000

Since 2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,100,000 Old

caseload. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000,000

Total FY 2001/2002 U.S. Government (USG) Assistance to Afghanistan $292,972,370 (1)

Total FY 2001/2002 USG Assistance to Tajikistan. . . . . . . . . . $68,208,180

(1) Note: this figure has been reduced from the October 31, 2001 figure of $294,055,970 due to a discrepancy in reporting of the total number of Humanitarian Daily Rations dropped as of that date. See DOD Funding for details.

Current Situation

Overview. Food aid, delivered in massive quantities by the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) despite ongoing conflict, and through U.S. airdrops, continued to flow into Afghanistan in increasing quantities. Nonfood relief commodities continued to arrive in Afghanistan as well. Population movements towards Afghanistan's borders continued, while Taliban forces reportedly engaged in forced recruitment as well as blocking efforts to flee the country. Despite increased refugee numbers in Pakistan, outflows still fell far short of the 1.5 million to surrounding countries envisioned by contingency planners.

Reports of the Taliban using civilian populations and structures as human shields continued, as Taliban forces continued to move military equipment and personnel into civilian structures including mosques and schools.

Political/Military. In what some sources described as a serious setback for efforts to establish a broad-based post-Taliban government inside Afghanistan, opposition leader Abdul Haq was captured and killed by the Taliban after a brief foray into southeastern Afghanistan. Haq was a prominent Pashtun leader who had achieved hero status in Afghanistan due to his role in the war against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

Food Aid. As of October 31, WFP had enough food aid in Afghanistan and the region to feed more than 10 million people for one month (see table). Despite the ongoing war, food deliveries into Afghanistan, as well as distributions to beneficiaries, continued. According to WFP, distribution of food aid to beneficiaries inside Afghanistan during the month of October totaled 21,933 metric tons (MT) for more than 2.6 million beneficiaries. Since September 11, WFP has distributed a total of 34,341 MT of food aid inside Afghanistan. The daily rate of food aid transport into Afghanistan has steadily increased; between October 28 and October 29, WFP transported 3,910 MT into the country. In total, WFP has delivered 27,311 MT of food into Afghanistan since September 11.

In Northern Alliance-held territory, food is reportedly available in all local commercial centers, although prices have been increasing. Prices in the northeast have generally been higher than the rest of the country, due to war and accessibility issues.

Current WFP Food Aid Stocks

Location Quantity (MT) Beneficiaries

Afghanistan 9,136 1,096,296

Region 84,536 10,144,313

Total 93,672

Pakistan. Although the border officially remained closed, Afghans continued to cross into Pakistan, bringing the total number of Afghan refugees since September 11 to an estimated 80,000 to 110,000. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that it would begin using 15 campsites under development in Pakistan to accommodate up to 150,000 people.

UNHCR reported October 31 that it had reached agreement with President Pervez Musharraf to continue to admit Afghans under certain categories of vulnerability, which include elderly and sick persons. UNHCR is seeking to expand the categories to include those fleeing forced recruitment efforts. UNHCR also reported that it has reached agreement with the Government of Pakistan that the thousands of "invisible refugees" who have crossed into Pakistan through informal crossings should receive assistance, if possible, preferably in camp settings.

The Killi Faizo temporary staging site near the Chaman border crossing in Baluchistan filled steadily this week to a total of 1,900 people, exceeding the site's maximum capacity. According to UNHCR, local authorities suspended registration and refused new arrivals, sending them back across the border to a Taliban-administered site at Spin Boldak. UNHCR is negotiating to open a new site nearby the Killi Faizo site in Pakistan. UNHCR reported that a number of the new arrivals were severely sick or malnourished, and MSF-Holland treated over 100 patients on October 31. UNHCR provided tents, blankets, cooking utensils and other non-food items, WFP supplied food, and Oxfam provided water facilities at the site.

UNHCR Contingency Sites in Pakistan

Location Capacity Pop.

Roghani/Tor Tangi (Baluch.) 50,000

Killi Faizo (Baluch.) 1,600 1,900

Mohmand/Khyber (NWFP) 22,000

Iran. In western Afghanistan, Makaki, a camp operated in a Taliban-controlled area of Nimroz Province by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), has now reportedly reached its 6,000-person capacity, according to UNHCR. Iranian authorities are hoping to transfer some of the new arrivals to Mile 46, a camp in a Northern Alliance-controlled portion of Nimroz. UNHCR has expressed concerns regarding the safety of the Iranian camps inside Afghanistan. Many Afghans have expressed fears of forced round-ups by the Taliban near the Iranian border, as well as fears of being used as human shields by Taliban forces. Shelter and water supplies at the sites are also reportedly insufficient.

Iran/IRCS IDP Sites in Afghanistan

Location Capacity Population

Makaki (Nimroz) 6,000 7,800

Mile 46 632

Total 6,632

Afghanistan. On October 30, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reiterated a warning that up to 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Taliban-held areas of the Northern Region are living under very poor conditions. The area, which has suffered the combined effects of both drought and war, was already considered to be Afghanistan's worst affected and least served area prior to September 11. Fighting between the Northern Alliance and Taliban forces in southern Balkh province has reportedly driven IDPs living in spontaneous settlements towards the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif, the region's major city and Balkh's provincial capital. By some accounts there are now at least 11 camps in the vicinity of Mazar-e-Sharif.

In southern Afghanistan, there are now reportedly some 3,000 IDPs at a Taliban-run camp at Spin Boldak, near the Pakistan border. Afghans arriving in Pakistan have reported cases of severe malnutrition and dysentery at the site. The health conditions of some new arrivals appeared to confirm this, according to UNHCR. New arrivals also reported that Taliban forces were preventing Afghans from leaving the country, including those in urgent need of medical attention. On October 31, armed Taliban forces seized a UNHCR field office at Spin Boldak, just hours after a meeting between the U.N. High Commissioner and the Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, in which the High Commissioner asked that the Taliban stop interfering with UNHCR property and staff.

Delivery of relief commodities continued in western and northern Afghanistan. UNOCHA reported that an IOM convoy from Mashad, Iran was expected to arrive in Herat on November 1 carrying 13,000 blankets, as well as other nonfood relief items. In Mazar-e-Sharif, an IOM office was allowed to re-open by the Taliban. Although some 2,000 quilts were looted, IOM plans to deliver 3,000 quilts from the site that escaped looting to IDP camps in Kunduz.

Security problems inside Afghanistan continue to pose major concerns, with looting and armed occupation of international aid agency offices increasingly commonplace. According to UNOCHA, the UNHCR office in Kandahar, which houses relief supplies, was looted. UNOCHA also reported that armed individuals occupied the WFP office in Mazar-e-Sharif, and local authorities are using two WFP vehicles. ICRC offices in Mazar-e-Sharif were taken over by armed individuals on October 23. In addition, there have been unconfirmed reports that WFP food stocks have disappeared from its Kandahar warehouse, which was taken over by the Taliban on October 16.

The refugee outflows from Afghanistan have been substantially lower than expected to date. Afghans are not leaving Afghanistan for a variety of reasons, according to reports, including difficulties in crossing the country's borders; the high financial cost of leaving in an impoverished economy; the realization that U.S. targeting is limited to military objectives; and the fact that food aid is still reaching many areas.

USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Background

On October 4, President George W. Bush announced a $320 million assistance program for Afghanistan. Funding will support assistance to Afghans both inside and outside Afghanistan's borders, with support for food and a wide variety of other relief needs.

On October 4, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina B. Rocca redeclared a complex humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan for FY 2002. To date, FY 2001 and FY 2002 USG humanitarian assistance for Afghans is provided by USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP, USAID/Democracy and Governance (DG), USDA, the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM), the 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). The assistance includes both assistance inside Afghanistan and assistance to Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.

In Tajikistan, on October 10, 2001, U.S. Charg��d'Affaires James A. Boughner declared a disaster due to drought, and requested funds for a seed and fertilizer distribution program. USAID/OFDA responded by providing $998,180 through the U.S. Embassy to CARE for the purchase and distribution of winter wheat seeds and fertilizer.

USAID/OFDA Assistance

Personnel

USAID/OFDA Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) personnel have deployed to Uzbekistan to assess humanitarian activities and logistical capacity in the area. The DART personnel in Uzbekistan will complement a DART that was deployed to Pakistan on June 17, 2001.

In April 2001, USAID/OFDA and State/PRM deployed an assessment team to western and northern Afghanistan, including Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, to assess drought and nutrition conditions in affected areas.

Airlifts and Commodities - FY 2002

Airlift to Islamabad -- On October 23, Bear McConnell, Director of the USAID Central Asia Task Force, arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane carrying 20,400 blankets from USAID/OFDA stockpiles. An additional 15,000 blankets arrived via commercial transport October 25. The blankets will be provided to UNHCR as a contingency for a possible refugee influx. Value including transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $312,350

Health Kits to Pakistan -- USAID/OFDA has provided five health kits to UNICEF in Islamabad as an in-kind contribution. The health kits can support a population of 10,000 for up to three months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29,415

Airlift to Turkmenistan -Two chartered planes carrying 1,000 rolls of plastic sheeting for emergency shelter arrived in Ashgabat October 18 and were consigned to UNICEF. Value includes transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $403,200

New Grants - FY 2002 (Afghanistan)

Concern Worldwide -- Shelter program in northeast Afghanistan to encourage up to 5,000 displaced families to return to their homes by repairing looted and destroyed homes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,203,343

FAO - Seed multiplication, procurement, and distribution to drought-affected farmers throughout Afghanistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,095,000

MCI -- distribution of WFP food to 10,000 families, potable water for 3,000 families, and distribution of non-food items to 10,000 families in southern and central Afghanistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000,000

WFP - purchase, transport, and bagging of 15,000 MT of wheat. . .$6,000,000

WFP - purchase of trucks to support the delivery of food aid. . .$5,000,000

Grants -- FY 2002 (Afghanistan)

ACTED -- Pre-positioning of food and non-food emergency relief items in northeastern Afghanistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500,000

ACTED -- IDP camp management and support in Baghlan. . . . . . . $630,000

FAO - Seed multiplication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300,000

GOAL -- Food, shelter, water/sanitation, and winterization in Samangan and Jozjan Provinces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,500,000

IOM - Support for distribution of food and non-food relief commodities in Badghis, Faryab, and Balkh provinces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $562,313

International Medical Corps (IMC) -- Health assistance for IDPs and local residents in Herat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $735,000

UNICEF -- Nutrition surveillance, health, and water/sanitation activities country-wide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,650,000

Save the Children (SC)/US -- Nutrition surveillance in northern Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $206,488

SC/US -- Food programs in Faryab and Sar-e-Pul, and emergency heating for hospitals in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000,000

UNOCHA --Humanitarian coordination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500,000

UNICEF -- Water and Environmental Sanitation activities. $2,500,000

ICRC -- Support for pre-positioning and mobilization of food and non-food stocks for use within Afghanistan in addressing the needs of 540,000 drought and war-displaced people, as well as support for airlifts. . . . . . . . $2,500,000

WFP -- Support for a Joint Logistics Center and humanitarian air operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500,000

Total USAID/OFDA FY 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $43,127,109

Grants -- FY 2002 (Tajikistan)

CARE -- Purchase and distribution of winter wheat seeds and fertilizer, benefiting an estimated 4,500 drought-affected families.

Total USAID/OFDA Tajikistan FY 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $998,180

USAID/FFP

WFP -- 72,700 MT of P.L. 480 Title II wheat and complementary commodities.

Total USAID/FFP FY 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $38,555,000

State/PRM

Note: State/PRM funds listed reflect actual contributions to the listed agencies. Plans for funding are not included until funds have been obligated.

New State/PRM Grants - FY 2002

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) -- Contribution to ICRC's Revised Emergency Afghan Conflict Appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,500,000

International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC) -- Contribution to IFRC's Revised Appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000,000

IOM -- Support for IOM's Appeal for Emergency Response to the Crisis in Afghanistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000,000

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) -- Contribution to the Project Management Information System in Afghanistan (ProMIS). . . . . . . $160,000

UNOCHA -- Support for UNOCHA's Donor Alert for Afghans in Afghanistan and in Neighboring Countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000,000

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- Support for UNFPA's Special Program for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $600,000

WFP -- Contribution to WFP's Special Operation/Logistics Support to Interagency Relief Efforts and Humanitarian Assistance for the Afghan people. $4,000,000

State/PRM Grants - FY 2002

UNHCR -- Funding for UNHCR's Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Plan for Afghans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000,000

Total State/PRM FY 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,260,000

Department of Defense (DOD)

Between October 7 and October 31, DOD dropped 1,280,525 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs), valued at $4.30 each, into Afghanistan. (Note: the figure reported October 30 of 1,280,525 HDRs dropped was inaccurate. The correct figure was 1,028,520.)

Total DOD FY 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,570,728

USG ASSISTANCE - AFGHANISTAN

FY 2001

Note: detailed breakdowns of FY 2001 assistance are available in previous Central Asia Region Situation Reports. TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2001. . . . . . . . . . . $178,607,625

FY 2002

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan FY 2002. . . $114,364,745

FY 2001/2002

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan FY 2001/2002. $292,972,370

USG ASSISTANCE -- TAJIKISTAN

Total USG Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001. . . . . . . . . . . $67,210,000

Note: FY 2001 USG assistance to Tajikistan included assistance through USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP, USDA, the Department of State, and Freedom Support Act funds administered through a variety of agencies. Total USAID/OFDA Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2002. . . . . . . . . $998,180 Total USG Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001/2002. . . . . . . . $68,208,180