OCHA Situation Report No. 3 Afghanistan - Drought 1 June 2000 - 31 May 2001
Strategy of the Assistance Community: The Drought in Afghanistan 1. The Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan has prepared a "Strategy of the Assistance Community in Response to the Drought in Afghanistan" in close collaboration with UN agencies and national and international NGOs committed to alleviating the effects of the drought that is currently gripping Afghanistan and other parts of Asia. The Strategy was disseminated on 6 June 2000 in Islamabad, Pakistan, by the UN Coordinator a.i., and is attached herewith. 2. The drought response planned by the assistance community for Afghanistan requires the implementation of projects totalling USD 67 million. Of this amount approximately USD 65 million are new needs above and beyond those activities that have already been included in the Consolidated Appeal for 2000 but for which funding continues to be sought to address and mitigate the effects of drought. It should be noted that without concurrent funding for the Consolidated Appeal for 2000, the drought response would be seriously undermined. 3. While initial assessments showed southwest Afghanistan to be the most affected area, it is now confirmed that the whole country has been severely affected. Due to a combination of war and deprivation, many of the Afghan people were already highly vulnerable. The current drought has increased levels of vulnerability for a wide segment of the population. A preliminary estimate suggests that between now and June 2001 at least half of the population of Afghanistan may be affected by drought, three to four million people severely and another eight to twelve million moderately. The people most affected are rain-fed wheat producers whose crop, normally harvested between May and July 2000, has almost totally failed. These include 2.5 million rain-fed wheat farmers in northern Afghanistan. Livestock owners, especially kochis, are the second most affected group. 4. Insofar as available funding has allowed, it has been possible to focus ongoing activities to address the additional concerns caused by the drought. This has been particularly the case in those areas of the southwest where the effects of the drought were first realised. In addition to the extension of WFP's emergency food distributions in the area, interventions have included improvement in the quality and quantity of potable water, the provision of emergency feed to livestock, extended vaccination of livestock, and the provision of emergency health kits. These interventions have been undertaken by UN agencies, the NGO community, and the authorities. 5. Following the issuance of the first preliminary appeal of $1.8 million in May, contributions specifically for drought interventions have been forthcoming from the Governments of Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union through ECHO. Of the amounts provided, the total identified for assistance for Afghanistan totals approximately USD 5.9 million. 6. The overall goal of the strategy is to stabilise communities in the places where they live and support existing coping mechanisms. Funding is sought for the following areas of intervention: - Food Security USD 48 million - Provision of Potable Water and Sanitation USD 2.4 Million - Protection of Livelihoods USD 12.8 Million - Preventive Health USD 113,000 - Contingency Planning USD 2.7 Million - Co-ordination, Monitoring and Evaluation USD 700,000. 7. The Strategy Document is also available at the Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan's Website (http://www.pcpafg.org) as well as at the OCHA Internet Website (http://www.reliefweb.int) For additional information, please contact the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan, Tel. + 92 51 211 451, Fax + 92 51 211 450, 211 475, of the OCHA Disaster Response Branch. 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: (in GVA) Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53 (in NY) Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -