OCHA Situation Report No. 1 Afghanistan - Drought 5 April 2000
Situation 1. Southern Afghanistan is suffering from severe drought. Following the scarcity of rain in 1998 and in 1999, unusually dry weather with far below average precipitation has continued over recent months. The situation is expected to deteriorate as any prospect of rain in 2000 becomes increasingly unlikely by the end of April. In addition, the receipt of water from snow melt from the Central Highlands is expected to be less than usual since the snowfall this winter was less than average. 2. The drought is continuing to take a toll on agricultural and urban areas in southern Afghanistan which may face a possible water emergency, involving a serious lack of drinking water in urban areas, increased disease outbreaks, severe loss of livestock and crop failure in the breadbasket of the country. The worst affected areas are the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz. Zabul, Uruzgan, Farah and Badghis provinces are also affected. Damages 3. In rural areas, livestock owners of the Registan desert, who are mainly Kochis (nomads), are most seriously affected. In addition to the insufficient fodder stock in 1999 due to low yields, the drought has been decreasing the available feed, causing serious starvation of livestock. Some nomads have already lost up to 100% of their animals. According to available data, the mortality rate of sheep reached 63% in Shemolzai district in Zabul and 38% in Shinkay district in Kandahar. Farmers are also affected due to lack of irrigation water. 4. In urban areas, water pumps are either running dry or are supplying only undrinkable water. Urban dwellers are suffering from a lack of clean water, which may result in a new wave of outbreaks of diarrhoea, dysentery and related diseases. International response 5. A UN/NGO task force was formed in mid-March to assess the impact of the drought and plan a response to the unfolding disaster. The UN and some NGOs are in the process of pulling together a comprehensive picture and projected needs based on ongoing and planned assessments. The UN Office of Project Services (UNOPS), FAO, WFP, UNICEF, WHO and United Nations Centre for Human Settlementsts (UNCHS Habitat) will participate in this undertaking. 6. UNOPS has distributed 6,000 molasses blocks to livestock owners and has also started water conservation measures by building small dam walls. WFP is providing emergency feeding (7,164 MT of food) for 30,000 families in parts of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul, which covers about 40% of the population in the area covered. However, the UN has access difficulties in and around Kandahar. 7. More detailed information is available at the Website of the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan: http://www. pcpafg.org 8. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is in close contact with the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan, and will revert with further information if the situation warrants it. 9. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34 Fax: +41-22-917 00 23 In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10 Desk Officers: Ms. S. Metzner-Strack / Mr. R. Mueller / Mr. S. Matsuka direct Tel. +41-22-917 21 44 / 31 31 / 40 34 Press contact: Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -